324 
FINCHES, SPARROWS, ETC. 
The pine finch resembles the goldfinch in general, but its home is 
in the evergreen mountain forests, and after the nesting season it 
wanders erratically over the country in high-flying flocks, giving its 
plaintive cha, cha, as it goes, and coming to earth when a weed 
patch or the cones of an evergreen offer it a meal. It might easily 
be mistaken for a striped sparrow, but as it spreads its wings and 
tail to get its balance in feeding, the yellow patches identify it at a 
glance. When disturbed at a meal the flocks often make short 
circling flights, loath to give up their harvest. 
In Colorado, Prof. Cooke says it is a common resident, abundant 
along the foothills during migrations, and from 7000 feet to timber- 
line in summer. Some stay near timberline through the winter, 
but the bulk scatter over the lower valleys and plains. In southern 
California Mr. Grinnell finds it irregularly in the willow regions 
and lowlands in winter. 
GENUS PASSER. 
Passer domesticus (Linn.). English Sparrow. 
Form stout and stocky ; bill very stout, curved, side outlines bulging to 
near the end; wing pointed; tail shorter than 
r wings, nearly even ; feet small. Adult male : lores, 
throat, and chest patch black ; rest of under parts 
Fig. 410. Male. grayish; top of head and ear coverts grayish, with 
bright chestnut patches between eye and nape ; wing 
with chestnut patch and two white bands ; rest of upper parts brown, back 
streaked with black; upper parts dull brown; 
under parts dull gray. Adult female: crown and 
hind neck grayish brown or olive; entire under 
Fig. 411. Female. parts brownish white or gray; back browner, less 
refuscent than in male. Length: 5.50-6.25, wing 
about 2.85-3.00, tail 2.35-2.50. 
Distribution. — Europe in general, except Italy ; introduced and natural¬ 
ized in Canada and the United States, from the Atlantic west to Utah and 
New Mexico, with colonies in central California, Portland, Oregon, and 
Seattle, Washington; also Bahamas, Cuba, Bermudas, Nova Scotia, and 
southern Greenland. 
Nest. — About houses or in trees, bulky, made largely of dried grasses. 
Eggs: 4 to 7, thickly spotted with dark brown and purplish. 
“The introduction of the English sparrow is one of the most 
familiar examples of acclimatization. Brought over to the United 
States in 1850, the bird developed such a marvelous ability to 
adapt itself to new surroundings and increased so rapidly that by 
1870 it had gained a foothold in twenty states and the District of 
Columbia, as well as in two provinces of Canada. At the present 
time [1899] it is found in every state and territory except Alaska, 
Arizona, Montana, and Nevada.” (Palmer.) 
