BIRDS OF PENNSYLVANIA. 
231 
nally of various pliant plant substances, and lined inside with downy 
materials chiefly of a vegetable character; it is placed usually in the 
crotch of a small tree in the orchard, garden, or along the roadside. I 
have mostly found their nests, in the vicinity of West Chester, in small 
hickory and maple trees. Eggs commonly five, white, with faint blue- 
ish tint, .66 by .50. This Goldfinch, particularized by naturalists as 
tristis , from its low and plaintive notes, is known by a number of com¬ 
mon names which have reference either to his color or the seeds, etc., 
of plants on which he feeds. These birds subsist mainly on vegetable 
materials, particularly different kinds of small seeds of grasses, weeds, 
cultivated flowers, etc. The Salad-bird, like the Crimson Finch, is fond 
of feasting on the blossoms of apple, cherry and maple trees; the seeds 
of the dandelion, thistle and sunflower enter largely into his bill of 
fare. During the summer months, especially when they have young, 
the food consists principally of insects, such as small beetles, plant-lice, 
different species of flies and small grasshoppers; also small larvae. 
Spinus pinus (Wils.). 
Pine Siskin ; Pine Finch. 
Description ( Plate 31. Fig. 2). 
Bill very acute ; bill, feet and iris brown ; tail forked ; above brownish-olive ; be¬ 
neath whitish, feathers streaked with dusky ; concealed bases of tail feathers and 
quills, together with their inner edges, sulphur-yellow ; outer edges of quills and 
tail feathers yellowish-green ; two brownish-white bands on the wing ; a bright yel¬ 
low spot in some specimens back of posterior wing-band. 
Young. —Similar to adults but more rusty-brown. Length about 4.80 inches ; ex¬ 
tent about 8.75 inches. 
Habitat. —North America generally, breeding mostly north of the United States 
: and in the Rocky mountain region ; in winter south to the Gulf states and Mexico. 
The Pine Finch is a common winter resident in Pennsylvania. It ar¬ 
rives in this region early in October and departs usually in April. 
S These birds are found mostly in flocks of twenty to thirty each ; often¬ 
times solitary individuals or pairs are seen in company with snowbirds 
and different species of sparrows. As its specific name would indicate 
| it delights especially to dwell in pine forests. They feed on small seeds, 
cones of different pines, small berries, some few insects, and also, to a 
small extent, on buds of maple and other trees. I have, several times 
during the summer months, seen Pine Finches in the mountainous 
regions of our state where, I have no doubt, some every season rear 
their young. Prof. August Kock informs me that this species occasion¬ 
ally at least, if not regularly, breeds in the mountainous districts of 
Lycoming county. 
