FINCHES, SPARROWS, ETC. 
319 
habits are identical with those of the common redpoll. Both forms 
are resident, making only a partial migration into the interior in the 
severest weather. 
528. Acanthis linaria (Linn.). Redpoll. 
Adult male in breeding plumage. — Chin patch and feathers around bill 
blackish ; crown crimson ; throat, sides, and rump more or less 
washed with pink or crimson ; rest of under parts white, sides 
streaked with dusky; upper parts streaked, dark brown and 
buffy, lighter but streaked on rump , rump washed with pink ; 
bill horn color, dusky at tip. Adult male in winter plumage : Fj ^ 
much lighter, wing bands more or less buffy, pink paler; bill g ' 
light yellow, black at tip. Adult female: similar to the male, but pink of 
under parts replaced by buffy or whitish; seasonal difference same as in 
male. Young: like adults, but without pink or red, crown streaked and 
sides and wing bands more or less buffy. Male: length (skins) 4.31-5.32, 
wing 2.78-3.01, tail 1.91-2.29, bill .31-.38. Female : length (skins) 4.29- 
5.43, wing 2.76-3.00, tail 1.99-2.30, bill .30-.39. 
Distribution. — Breeds in the northern parts of the northern hemisphere ; 
south irregularly in winter, in North America as far as California, Mis¬ 
souri, and Alabama. 
Nest. — In bushes or small trees, bulky, made of twigs, straws, and 
feathers. Eggs : 2 to 5, pale bluish green, speckled, chiefly around larger 
end, with reddish brown, sometimes mixed with a few black specks or 
lines. 
Food. — Buds and weed seed. 
The redpolls are common in Colorado, from November to March, 
from the plains to 10,000 feet. Prof. Cooke says they remain high in 
the mountains, even when the temperature is thirty degrees below 
zero, which does not seem strange, as most of them winter in Alaska. 
In spring, Mr. Nelson tells us, “they are beautiful objects, with 
their bright rosy hues and fluffy plumage. On warm sunshiny days 
during April they come familiarly up to the very windows and 
doors, and peer about with an odd mixture of confidence and curios¬ 
ity, examining everything and scarcely deigning to move aside as 
the people pass back and forth.” After the nesting season, he says, 
“they come trooping about, young and old, in large parties, with 
great confidence and a peculiar pertness, taking possession of the 
premises and using the roofs and fences for convenient perches, 
making excursions thence to whatever point appears likely to yield 
food, or chasing each other playfully about.” Through July and 
August they are extremely abundant in Alaska, but by the end of 
September the majority have left the coast, most of them going into 
the interior, where they brave the severest weather. 
GENUS ASTRA GALINUS. 
General Characters. — Bill conical, acute ; wing long and pointed ; tail 
emarginate ; tarsus as short or shorter than middle toe with claw. 
