Identifier: bookofbirdscommo00hens (find matches)
Title: The book of birds; common birds of town and country and American game birds
Year: 1921 (1920s)
Authors: Henshaw, Henry W. (Henry Wetherbee), 1850-1930 National Geographic Society (U.S.) Fuertes, Louis Agassiz, 1874-1927 Kennard, Frederic Hedge, 1865- Cooke, Wells Woodbridge, 1858-1916 Shiras, George, 1859-1942
Subjects: Birds -- United States
Publisher: Washington, D.C., National geographic society

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and sometimes the tall thistles onwhich it likes to feed bend with the unitedAveight of several of the gay plumaged littlegoldfinches. It is a law unto itself as regardsits nesting period, and begins to think seriouslyabout housekeeping when other birds are feed-ing full-grown youngsters or are debating thej)ropriety of a second brood. The goldfinchhas a pretty and plaintive call note, and its fullsong is well worth listening to. It is muchlike that of the canary, so much alike, in fact,that the bird is often called the wild canary. Throughout the year the goldfinch is a seedeater, especially of weed seeds, and it eats alsomany insects, including canker worms, plantlice, and beetles. Our goldfinch sometimes an-noys the farmer by attacking the lettuce seedswhich have been left to mature for next sea-sons planting, but the damage in this way isslight, and Prof. Beal has been told that evenon the large seed farms of California it isnever serious enough to call for prcHectivemeasures. 36
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HousK Finch Female, upper; male, lowerArkansas Goldi inch Male, upper; female, Icjwer IuRPLE Finch Male, upper; female, lower American Goldfinch Male, upper; female, lower 37 RUBY-THROAT (Archilochus colubris) Length, about s^ inches. Needs no descrip-tion, as it is the only hummer living in theEastern States. Range: Breeds from southeastern Saskatch-ewan and central Quebec south to Gulf coast,west to North Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, andcentral Texas; winters from middle Floridaand Louisiana through southern Alexico andCentral America to Panama. Of the five hundred or more species of thisstrictly .American family, the eastern UnitedStates is favored by the presence of only one,the ruby-tiiroat, nor is this species as commonas might be desired. Compared to the abun-dance of its kind in the far west it is rare in-deed. As if afraid of being too prodigal ofher gifts. Nature has denied the hummingbirdsong, and the harsh squeaks of these tinysprites are far better adapted to making warthan

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