264 
RRINGILLA TRISTIS. 
at each successive impulse of the wings. During the 
latter part of summer they are almost constant visitants 
in our gardens, in search of seeds, which they dislodge 
from the husk with great address, while hanging, 
frequently head downwards, in the manner of the tit- 
mouse. From these circumstances, as well as from 
their colour, they are very generally known, and pass 
by various names expressive of their food, colour, &c# 
such as thistle bird, lettuce bird, salad bird, yellow 
bird, &c. The gardeners, who supply the city of 
Philadelphia with vegetables, often take them in trap- 
cages, and expose them for sale in market. They are 
easily familiarized to confinement, and feed with seeming 
indifference a few hours after being taken. 
The great resemblance which the yellow bird bears 
to the canary has made many persons attempt to pair 
individuals of the two species together. An ingenious 
French gentleman, who resides in Pottsgrove, Penn- 
sylvania, assured me, that he had tried the male yellow 
bird with the female canary, and the female yellow bird 
with the male canary, but without effect, though he 
kept them for several years together, and supplied them 
wfith proper materials for building. Mr Hassey of New 
York, however, who keeps a great number of native 
as well as foreign birds, informed me, that a yellow 
bird paired with a canary in his possession, and laid 
eggs, but did not hatch, which he attributed to the 
lateness of the season. 
These birds, as has been before observed, (vol. i. 
p. 261,) were seen by Mr M‘Kenzie, in his route across 
the continent of North America, as far north as lat. 
54° ; they are numerous in all the Atlantic States north 
of the Carolinas ; abound in Mexico, and are also found 
in great numbers in the savannahs of Guiana. 
The seeds of the lettuce, thistle, hemp, &c. are their 
favourite food, and it is pleasant to observe a few of 
them at work in a calm day, detaching the thistle down, 
in search of the seeds, making it fly in clouds around 
them. 
The American goldfinch has been figured and des- 
