CHAPTER XVI. 
A TRIO OF BE A UTIFUL BIRDS. 
niHE children were gathered around the great 
-L volume of Audubon to look at a bird to which 
Miss Harson had called their attention, and which 
they unhesitatingly pronounced to be a canary. Its 
color w r as a rich lemon-yellow, with black wings and 
tail, and it was about four and a half inches long. 
“ It is isn’t exactly a canary, either/’ said Mal- 
colm, studying it attentively; “ there’s too much 
black in the wings and tail.” 
“ It is not a canary at all,” replied the governess, 
“ but the American goldfinch, which resembles the 
canary in many respects, and really belongs to the 
same species, as the latter is called the canary finch. 
The goldfinch of Britain is very much like our own, 
and both are fine singers. 
“ The goldfinches arrive early in the spring, and 
until they build they are seen in flocks, ‘ frequently 
assembling in great numbers on the same tree to 
bask and dress themselves in the morning sun, sing- 
ing in concert for half an hour together, the confused 
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