Nebraska Bird Review 
5 
Figure 1. Growth of Goldfinch nestlings in weight (g) and length of body 
parts (mm); semi-logarithmic scale. 
Of the 12 lacking crural neossoptiles, 
two were from first laid eggs, five 
from second eggs, one from a third 
egg, one from a fourth egg and three 
from fifth eggs. 
The neossoptiles changed to a grey¬ 
ish color as described by Walkinshaw 
(1939), but were often pure white 
when the nestling hatched. The long¬ 
est ones were found on the capital, 
spinal and humeral tracts. 
An egg tooth was observed on both 
the upper and lower mandible in 
several nestlings although the upper 
one was far more prominent. 
When four or five eggs comprise 
a clutch, the female may not begin 
regular incubation until after laying 
the fourth egg since two four-egg 
clutches required less than 24 hours 
between the hatching of the first and 
last young in a clutch; of 11 five^- 
egg clutches, one required less than 
24 hours, one required a little more 
than 24 hours, and nine required less 
than 48 hours but more than 24 
hours. One six-egg clutch required 
more than 48 hours. 
Walkinshaw (1938) found that 
females may begin incubating the 
night after laying the second egg of 
a four-egg clutch and about the 
third day at nests of five eggs. Hol¬ 
comb and Twiest (unpub. a) found 
that most Redwing females began 
incubating at the laying of the next 
to the last egg in clutches of three 
or four. Some four and five-egg 
