692 
BIRDS OF NEW MEXICO 
the nests was being, made of some green substance that matched the 
color of the cactus, though it would soon turn brown. In a different 
locality, a handsome male was seen, in lieu of wool, picking up bits of 
cotton that had fallen from the cottonwoods. At Rinconada on 
June 2, 1904, when Mr. Bailey found a half-grown House Finch, pre¬ 
sumably second nests were being built, for two-thirds of the nests 
found by Mr. Ligon on June 13, 1916, near Chloride, had just been 
vacated by the young birds, and were being reoccupied by the parents, 
new clutches of eggs being laid. 
An abundant resident at Mesilla Park, the House Finch was de¬ 
scribed by Professor Merrill as “ cheery and of pleasant song, with none 
of the objectionable qualities of the English Sparrow. One pair” he 
said, “nests regularly in a native clematis over a window at my house. 
Although it chooses extremely varied nesting sites, it does not clutter 
up buildings as does the English Sparrow. It eats a little fruit and 
many insects. On the lower mesa, in company with the white- 
crowned Gambel Sparrow, it nips off young alfalfa that is newly starting 
as well as garden truck unless screened. This is in early spring when 
fresh vegetation is still a rare delicacy on the bill of fare” (MS). 
Although in some instances, especially in fruit growing sections, 
it may be important to control the abundance of the House Finch, in 
the towns and cities his presence is greatly to be desired. With his 
bright, happy disposition, his soft rosy plumage, and his sweet musical 
voice, which he keeps in practice throughout the year, he is all that the 
English Sparrow is not—a most delightful, cheering little comrade to 
whom all doors should be open. So readily does he respond to hos¬ 
pitality that by providing bird boxes for him to nest in, drinking and 
bathing pans for daily use, and winter feeding tables for a possible 
time of need, he may not only be kept about all the year around, but, 
by means of observation mirrors, he may be photographed and studied 
at close range. 
An elaborate and extremely interesting study of the House Finch 
has been made in this way by Dr. W. H. Bergtold in Denver, who 
explains that “by attracting the birds to one’s windows, one comes so 
closely in touch with them that opportunities for detailed study are 
unsurpassed, while the bird’s abundance and fearlessness give one 
the most intimate acquaintance possible. Furthermore, the varied 
calls and notes of both sexes are of exceeding interest, heard to great 
advantage in this way.” A large variety of subjects were studied by 
Doctor Bergtold, including the character and season of song of both 
sexes, for “both sexes sing, though the female’s attempts are modest 
and infrequent”; the food of old and young (“the nestlings were, 
whenever possible, fed as soon as hatched and thereafter on dandelion 
seeds”); variation in plumage and disposition (some females were so 
