FINCHES, SPARROWS, ETC.: HOUSE FINCH 
693 
tame they would allow themselves to be examined with a mirror when 
sitting and others in cold weather came in to perch on the steam 
radiator next to the window sill); mating (the birds were apparently 
permanently mated, as they came at all times of year to the feeding 
and drinking dishes in pairs); nests and nesting (nests being found 
about electric arc street lights and in broken globes, and “emergency 
nests” noted, made in a day); eggs (fourteen days was the average 
length of incubation); feather development and growth, nestlings and 
nest habits, development and individuality, first notes, first flights, 
variation in color pattern, and other subjects. Special detailed studies 
were also made of weights of nestlings, parasites, injuries, mortality, 
and the English Sparrow versus the House Finch. The English Sparrow 
who fights for every inch of ground is shown to be so much superior 
to the House Finch in the biologic struggle that the intelligent help of 
man is needed to turn the balance to prevent the “retardation of the 
spread of a native species whose help to the community as a weed 
destroyer is of far greater value than is any benefit accruing from the 
English Sparrow as a scavenger, or through its habit of feeding its 
nestlings partly on animal food” (1913, pp. 40-73). 
The songs of the House Finch have been described by the Swenks, 
who studied them carefully during a winter in Tucson (from October 
20 to April 27), watching the seasonal changes and putting down the 
most striking songs in musical notation. On their arrival on October 
20, their account reads, “these Finches were plentiful and conspicuous 
everywhere about the house. About 6:20 each morning they began 
to twitter in their sleeping places in the woodbine vines just outside 
of our east window. By 7 o’clock they were in full song, and from then 
on they continued singing lustily all the morning, especially around 
10:00 a. m. when their songs were at the loudest. Early in November 
we noticed that they were gradually singing less frequently and less 
loudly; in fact, it seemed that their numbers about the house were 
becoming fewer. This period of diminished vocal effort extended 
from about November 5 to Christmas. Toward the end of December 
the desultory songs became more frequent, and continued gradually 
to increase in frequency during January, so that by early February 
the birds were again singing as lustily as they were when we arrived 
in the preceding October. By the time nest building was started, 
early in March (we saw the first birds carrying nesting material on 
March 7), the singing of the males was at its height, and continued 
so through the remainder of our stay. 
“The House Finch is a joyous bird, and it expresses its joy in its 
rollicking, warbling song. The song itself is not long, but it is rapidly 
repeated many times, producing a long-continued flow of singing. 
The song has many variations; in fact, but rarely do you hear two songs 
