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Show ORNITHOLOGY SHQRT STUDIES IN UTAH BIRD LIFE. THE GOLDFINCH. . ' By S. H. Goodwin. t This beautiful bird, of canary-yel low body, black crown, wings and tail the wings with white bars, and the tail with patches of white is widely distributed over our state. It is a a resident here, i. c., not only docs it build its nest and rear its young, but it remains within our borders throughout the year. It has various names, according to locality, such as: the Thistle-bird and Lcttucc-bird because of its well known fondness for seeds of these plants the Black-Capped Black-Capped Yellowbird, and Wild Canary. Cana-ry. In the southern part of the state the common form is replaced largely though not entirely, by the Arkansas Goldfinch, a less strikingly colored bird. I found the Arkansas Goldfinch Gold-finch co ni,m on at Buff, in San Juan county, June 24 July 1, 1908, and a little later at HiU, on the Colorado River; in the Trachyte Canyon, and at Hanksvillc, Torrcy, Kingston, Cir-clcvillc, Cir-clcvillc, Beaver, Kanosh and Fillmore. Fill-more. On July 4, 1908, as I sat on t lie great stone shelf which forms a part of one of the abuttments of the Caroline bridge, White Canyon, and within a few feet of the ruins of a 'cliff dweller's house that had been erected upon the same shelf two ot these bird's came into a small cotton-wood cotton-wood tree near mc and remained for some time, occasionally calling to each other with their characteristic "sw-c-c-t," and finally disappearing down the canon accentuating their bounding flight with the sylables, " pcr-chic-o-pce." The flight of the Goldfinch is un-dulatory, un-dulatory, bounding, like that of the Flicker, but unlike the Flicker it does not fly straight-away, as though on business bent. Its movements are cratic, hesitating, apparently without direction like a tiny craft without steering gear. It seems never to know just what its destination is to be; so after making a few bounds in one direction, it appears to find the exertion too great, turns about, slides down the air, circles, zigzags, and at last flusters down to a spot not far distant from its starting point. The song of this bird is peculiarly sweet and attractive. There is nothing noth-ing harsh, or insistent, or intrusive about it, but it is soft, clear, and carries car-ries well. During the nuptial season this music is heard to the best advantage. ad-vantage. Then it is prolonged and canary-like, and sometimes one may hear a flock of them singing in chorus, cho-rus, which is a treat, the pleasure of which is intensified by the infrcqucn-cy infrcqucn-cy of its occurrence. The most common com-mon note of this bird is the familiar "s-w-c-c-t" already referred to, and the flight-note " pcr-chic-o-pcc." The Goldfinch, late in the season, builds a cup-shaped nest of plant fibers, fi-bers, thickly lined with downy material, mate-rial, generally of thistls-down. The nest is securely placed in the upright forks of small trees, or in bushes near streams of water, and is rarely more than fifteen feet above the ground. The eggs number from three to six and arc a plain bluish white. With the approach of fall the male Goldfinch lays aside his brilliant colors col-ors and dons a garb much like the one worn by his mate. "Birds generally gen-erally wear the russet dress of nature at this season," says Thorcau; "they have their fall no less than the plants; the bright tints depart from their foliage fo-liage of feathers, and they flit past like withered leaves in "rustling flocks." Then the observer in the field must learn to recognize his acquaintances ac-quaintances by other characteristics. And these are not wanting in the Goldfinch. The white bars on the wings, the bounding, uncertain flight, and the unmistakable call-notes, "s-w-c-c-t", and "per-chic-o-pcc" will always give the necessary clue. The Goldfinch, in common with the other members of the great family to which it belongs, is a seed-cater, and consequently its food habits make it of economic importance. The dandelion, dan-delion, and thistle, and ragweed, and dock, and sunflower, and many other weed-pests beside, have a most persistent per-sistent foe in this bird, and since he remains with us throughout the year, his labors are correspondingly valuable valua-ble to the grower of crops. On New Year's day, of the present year, I found a 'flock of nearly two hundred of these birds feeding in a large patch of the Rocky Mountain Bee-Plant (Clcome scrrulata). At this time of year Goldfinches are to be met in gardens, along fenoc-rows, where weeds have been allowed to mature seed, in fields and pastures, wherever, wher-ever, in fact, weeds arc to be found and they arc always busy working for the owners of the soil. In the nesting nest-ing season they destroy many insects, for like other seed caters they feed their young a large per cent of insect in-sect food. These jolly, care-free, rovers rov-ers arc most desirable tenants on any farm; they do not damage, and render ren-der invaluable' service in the ccaslcss fight against weeds. |