taken for a distinct species, and mpst unaccountably arranged in the
systems as a variety of the European Siskin.
The history ||§§ this bird, which so-completely resembles the
Goldfinch of Europe .in song and i.ahitsi, bemg nearly fcompleted by
the golden pen of Wilson, we. shall npt .atjempt to add, any- obsdr:
vations of our own, but shall ; refer. the. render, to his volume, quoted
above, for . its biography. As .we cannot biit o^sorve that his description
is ishprt, and somewhat .iipperfeot, .probably owing- to the opinion
he at first entertained, but afterwards judiciously relinquished, that
a minute.description of -common birds -isvfupertla^lft1^® shaH’p r #
ceed.to des/dib'e the species in all its different
The male- American' Goldfinch" in sui^ne^ dress, represented by
Wilson in hisfirst,,plate,,is,four, and a half inches long, and eight,m
;extent.,$ The bill resemblps jthat of the Eurqpean, Goldfinch, and, as-
well as the feet, is of a reddishi-cinnamop. Colomii?#fe i i ^ S #rc dark
brown,. The front-and’veijtp^-are gfisgsy'bla&k; the remaining *part
o f te h e a tf , and all the body, nch lemdn-yeHowf the superior and
inferior tail, opyerts^are white, as well as the thighs ™3Fhe wmg’s^and
tail are black, the small coverts of the wings being yeHo^ externally,
and white on the~mner side, and at tip; the greater coyerts„are
tipped with .white, an arrangexqent which exhibits*, .two"Vi»*®-, -bands
across the vspqgs,;,.the. first and third primaries are equal, hardly
shorter than the seconds which is the longest, the fourth bejngnearl-y
fS long- as the third; thp secondaries are margined with white.
tail is emarginated,. the feathers being , black, slightly edged with
white* and having a large pure white spot on the inner \veb at tip.
. The female, as is usual in this family .qf la?ds,- is rather smaller
than the: male, and *is< »widely different from that sex in the cplours
©f its plumage. Thebillaqd feeti are.brownish,;, the lower mandible
is whitish at bas0:^|the head has nn appearance of black, and, with
the neck, the back, and rump, is brownish-olive, the latter part-being
of a lighter, shade than the preceding portions; the upper tail coverts
aregrgenish-white.t«, The frontlet, cheeks, sides of the neck, throat*
and upper part;, of-the" breast,, are pale greenish-yellow; the lower
portion-of the brcàst, belly,.Vent* »flanks, under wing and under tail
coverts, .arei.whitishsrt®he. wings and tail; which'.always afford the
niost» constant specific characters? arfeliket those of the male; except
that the bla'êkoêlbjttis less »intense, "and the white is less pure, béing
slightly tingidiwiti»
In this statel'dfüiàumage* the bird felo'Sely resembles the Fnngilla
citrinella of thew south ofrffluffiopfe? Which however, ;can’always be
dis|inguished:.»feotjâ. it>by hcverab characters, but- more - particularly
by its rgreenish-*yeIloW rump; iand by btingedestitute.tof the |whitish
spot at.the tip of the innepiviceBibf the tail feathers. :. The young are
so like the Ifenialesr as to distinguished'»with diffictdty ; rthexr
Cpl®#s;fhowev?èr, are still'lfesé# lively? they »assume the adult livery
in the spring, but: do not exhibit failli’ the prillianCy of the perfect bird
fin til the thirdmoult. v»-t
The American Goldfinfcfi^mbblts twice^'d? year, in the seasons of
spring andfàT^ffinn: ’,iîlf,f ^ fSpring moult the males obtain their.vivid
Mlhinlsfeg, which ifelbst at the autumnal change, and replaced by
à more* humblh'tit^â^l|milar to that df1 the- female, from which sex
'fc ^ c a im o t then b% fBadily 'distinguished. The black of the wings
isf however, dbrnertfidt1. more- intense ;' the white of the wings and of
if® fail ht dull- and dirty, and a yellowish tint prevails around the
dyes, as well as oh the neck. From this statement if follows, that
WüsotfÉffigure* represents the adult male in that brilliant dress in
which it ‘àppfeàr's, for the space*'of fpu^'cTr' five months only; whilst
faf: figure in the amîexëd plate exhihit^'thë‘invariable'colours of the
female and young-, asf'roW'as the ance of the ihàle for the
remaining seTéh months id; thé year.
As thef lèfa^i^^iv'àSiées, the plhriiage’ o'PfÊM* adult male gradually
changes, but flot'’èimultanè’bitsl^ in the différent individuals, so' that
in the spring and autumii we rarely find two that are alike; some
being more or yellow, having a rudiment of black on the head,
&cv according as the moulting process is more or less advanced.