172 
THE PURPLE FIHOH. 
They frequently associate with the Common Cross-bills, feeding on the 
same trees, and like them are at times fond of alighting against the mud 
used for closing the log-houses. They are seldom seen on the ground, 
although their motions there are by no means embarrassed. They are 
considered as destructive birds by some farmers, who accuse them of com 
mitting great depredations on the blossoms of their fruit-trees. I never 
observed this in Louisiana, where they remain long after the peach and pear 
trees are in full bloom. I have eaten many of them, and consider their 
flesh equal to that of any other small bird, excepting the Rice Bunting. 
This species was seen by Dr. Richardson on the banks of the Saskat- 
chewan river only, where it feeds on willow-buds. It arrives there in May, 
and resides during the summer. The eggs have been procured in the State 
of Massachusetts by my friend Dr. T. M. Brewer. They measure seven- 
eighths and a quarter in length, four-eighths and a half in breadth, and are 
thus of an elongated form, rather pointed. Their ground-colour is a bright 
emerald-green, sparingly marked with dots and a few streaks of black, 
accumulated near the apex, and some large marks of dull purple here and 
there over the whole surface. The following note is from the same gentle- 
man : — “ The passage of the Purple Finch through this State on its way 
north, is so rapid, and the number of those that stop to breed here so small, 
that I can furnish nothing respecting its habits, except that there is good 
reason to believe the accusation which has been brought against it, of injur- 
ing the blossoms of fruit trees. Last year, the trees were in full bloom at 
the time this bird was migrating, and I saw them plainly clinging to the 
branches, and at work upon the blossoms ; so that under some trees the 
gi’ound was literally strewed with the result of their destructiveness, 
although they did not appear to feed on the blossoms. I have had the good 
fortune to meet with its nest and eggs this season. Mr. Cabot found 
another, and is probably the first naturalist who has done so. The nest 
which I found was built in a cedar tree, at the distance of five feet from the 
ground. The tree stood by itself in a small sandy pasture, which was 
sparingly covered with half-grown cedars. The nest itself was rudely con- 
structed : it was composed externally of coarse grass and weeds, lined with 
fine roots of the same, and little care seemed to have been bestowed on its 
completion. The diameter of the exterior was 9 inches, the brim 3 inches, 
the depth 1 inch, the external depth 2 inches, giving it thus a shallow or 
flattish appearance. The eggs, four in number, were of a bright emerald 
green.” 
I have found this species from Labrador to the Texas. Mr. Nuttall 
and Mr. Townsend met with it on the Columbia river, and all the way tc 
St. Louis. In South Carolina, where it appears only during severe winters, 
