FINCHES, SPARROWS, ETC. 
313 
The house finch in the west is even more familiar than the robin 
in the east, nesting preferably in vines and odd nooks about houses, 
though it adopts any site that offers, from a stew-pan hung on a nail 
^ to a cactus. Its one requirement is water, and this is so absolute 
that in the arid country the sight of one of these birds encourages 
the explorer to go on looking, for there is surely one water hole that 
has not dried up, be it ever so small, and he has only to follow the 
birds to find it. 
The pretty finch is a charming, companionable little fellow, sing¬ 
ing cheerily from morning till night a happy, bright song that goes 
well with the warmth and sunshine of the low country it lives in. 
The flight song of the male is quite characteristic, for he is so full of 
music that he never can contain himself, on the wing or off. He 
fairly bubbles over with it when he goes a-courting and dances be¬ 
fore his demure little brown lady-love. 
The only objection to the familiarity of these pretty finches is 
their unfortunate though flattering appreciation of western fruit, 
but happily this is of small moment in many of the cities within 
their range. In El Paso, Texas, the sweet song of the finch comes 
in through the open windows with most grateful cheer, suggesting 
forcibly the relief it would be if the English sparrow with his un¬ 
musical jabbering could be exchanged for our lovely native song¬ 
ster. In some of the country districts the fact that it has been seen 
eating Russian thistle seeds should weigh in its favor. 
519c. C. m. dementis ( Mearns ). Island House Finch. 
Like C. m. frontalis , but with shorter wings, larger legs and feet, larger, 
more convex bill, heavier coloration, and broader striping on under parts. 
Male: length (skins) 5.20-5.83, wing 2.92-3.17, tail2.11-2.42, bill .39-.50. 
Female: length (skins) 5.32-5.67, wing 2.92-3.00, tail 2.10-2.30, bill .41-.46. 
Distribution. — Santa Barbara Islands, California; and Todos Santos 
Island, Lower California. 
GENUS LOXIA. 
General Characters. — Tips of bill crossed in adults, nasal plumules con¬ 
spicuous, concealing nostrils ; wing more than five times as long as tarsus; 
tail short, deeply emarginate ; tarsus short. 
KEY TO SPECIES. 
Fig. 400. 
1. Wing with two white bands. leucoptera, p, 315. 
1'. Wing without white bands. 
2. Bill heavier, wing nearly 4. stricklandi, p. 314. 
2'. Bill lighter, wing about 3.40. minor, p. 314. 
