60 
FEMALE AMERICAN GOLDFINCH. 
in the spring and autumn we rarely find two that are alike; some 
being more or less yellow, having a rudiment of black on the head, 
&c. according as the moulting process is more or less advanced. 
A remarkable variety is exhibited in a changing male, which I 
shot near Philadelphia, in the month of April, and which is there¬ 
fore considerably advanced towards perfect plumage. All the 
primaries are pure white on the outer web towards the base, thus 
constituting, in the most obvious manner, that white spot beyond 
the wing coverts, assigned by Say as a good discriminating mark 
between this species and the preceding. The fact we have related 
diminishes the value of this character, which is nevertheless a very 
good one; but as many other distinctions are observable, we need 
not rely exclusively upon it. The deviation we have here men¬ 
tioned is the more remarkable, as the greater number of species 
allied to this bird have that spot either white or yellow. 
Since writing the above, I obtained, from one of the large flocks 
in which these birds congregate in the autumn, several specimens 
of both sexes, more or less distinguished by the marking above 
stated as peculiar to the variety. 
