_Fringilla purpurea_, GMELIN, Syst. Nat. I, 1788, 923.—WILSON, Am.
Orn. I, 1808, 119, pl. vii, f. 4.—IB. V, 1812, 87, pl. xlii, f.
3.—AUD. Orn. Biog. I, 1831, 24; V, 200, pl. iv. _Hæmorrhous
purpurea_, SWAINSON, Birds, II, 1837, 295. _Erythrospiza
purpurea_, BP. List, 1838.—AUD. Birds Am. III, 1841, 170, pl.
cxcvi. _Carpodacus purpureus_, GRAY’S Genera, 1844-49.—BON. &
SCHLEGEL, Mon. des Loxiens, 14, tab. xv.—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858,
412.—SAMUELS, Birds N. Eng. 285. _? Loxia violacea_, LINN. Syst.
Nat. 1766, 306, 43. (Very uncertain.) _Purple Finch_, CATESBY,
PENNANT, LATH. _Hemp-Bird_, BARTRAM.
SP. CHAR. Second quill longest; first shorter than third, considerably
longer than the fourth. Body crimson, palest on the rump and breast,
darkest across the middle of back and wing-coverts, where the feathers
have dusky centres. The red extends below continuously to the lower
part of the breast, and in spots to the tibiæ. The belly and under
tail-coverts white, streaked faintly with brown, except in the very
middle. Edges of wings and tail-feathers brownish-red; lesser coverts
like the back. Two reddish bands across the wings (over the ends of
the middle and greater coverts). Lores dull grayish. Length, 6.25
inches; wing, 3.34; tail, 2.50; bill above, .46. _Female._
Olivaceous-brown above; brighter on the rump. Beneath white; all the
feathers everywhere streaked with brown, except on the middle of the
belly and under coverts. A superciliary light stripe.
HAB. North America, from Atlantic to the high Central Plains.
HABITS. The Purple Finch is a common species from Georgia to the
plains of the Saskatchewan, and as far west as the Great Plains,
beyond which it seems to be replaced by another race, or closely
allied species. It breeds from about latitude 40° to perhaps 60°, and
in most parts between these parallels is a rather common bird in
suitable localities. A few are occasionally found during the winter in
Massachusetts, but usually they all pass farther south. In the State
of South Carolina they are especially abundant throughout the winter,
or from October until April.
Dr. Coues states that the Purple Finch is a very abundant winter
resident near Washington, arriving early in October and remaining
until May, being eminently gregarious. Stragglers were seen until
nearly June, but the majority had departed as the leaves expanded.
They were most common in high open woods, and were observed to feed
chiefly on tender young buds of trees. They were in full song before
they took their departure.
They make their first appearance in regular migrations, in
Massachusetts, from the 10th to the 20th of May, and occasionally a
few are seen earlier. They are often unwelcome visitors to the
fruit-growers, having a great fondness for the blossoms of the peach,
cherry, plum, and apple. They will also feed upon other kinds of buds
and blossoms. They have a great predilection for evergreen trees,
especially the fir, the spruce, and the red cedar, and most generally
build their nests in these trees. In summer they feed on seeds,
insects, and berries of the honeysuckle and other shrubs.
The Purple Finch, or, as it is generally known in New England, the
Linnet, is one of our sweetest, best, and most constant songsters, and
is often trapped and sold as caged birds. They soon become accustomed
and partially reconciled to their confinement, but sing only during a
small part of the year. When one of these birds, confined in a cage,
is hung outside the house, in the country, he is sure to draw around
him quite a number of his species, and this furnishes the dealer a
ready means of capturing them.
This Finch was once regarded as quite rare in the vicinity of Boston,
so much so that during a four years’ residence in Cambridge, when
collections of nests and eggs had many votaries, not a single nest of
this species was obtained by any one. Since then, from some cause,
probably the increase of gardens, groves of evergreens, and other
localities favorable for their preservation and reproduction, these
graceful little Finches have become quite abundant in places
propitious for their residence. No less than seven pairs of these
favorite songsters took up their abode in my grounds at Hingham in a
single summer, and two had nests in the same tree, one of which was at
least sixty feet from the ground, on the very top of a tall fir. These
several pairs, as a general thing, lived together very harmoniously,
save only when one would approach too near the favorite station of
another, when the latter would begin to bristle up his crest, and give
very evident hints that his near presence was not agreeable. The
extreme southern end of the ridge-pole of the house had been, for
several summers, the favorite post for the patriarch of the flock,
from which at morning and at evening he made the neighborhood vocal
with his melody. If in his absence any other of these birds ventured
to occupy his position, there was always sure to be a disturbance on
his return, if it was not instantly vacated. These encounters were
frequent, and always very amusing. Discretion usually took the place
of valor on the part of the intruder.
The song of the Purple Finch resembles that of the Canary, and though
less varied and powerful, is softer, sweeter, and more touching and
pleasing. The notes of this species may be heard from the last of May
until late in September, and in the long summer evenings are often
continued until after it is quite dark. Their song has all the beauty
and pathos of the Warbling Vireo, and greatly resembles it, but is
more powerful and full in tone. It is a very interesting sight to
watch one of these little performers in the midst of his song. He
appears perfectly absorbed in his work, his form dilates, his crest is
erected, his throat expands, and he seems to be utterly unconscious of
all around him. But let an intruder of his own race appear within a
few feet of the singer, and the song instantly ceases, and in a
violent fit of indignation he chases him away.
The flight of the Purple Finch is said by Mr. Audubon to resemble that
of the Green Finch of Europe. They fly in compact flocks, with an
undulating motion, alighting all at once, and then instantly, as if
suddenly alarmed, take again to flight only to return to the same
tree. They then immediately make each his separate way to the ends of
the branches, and commence eating the buds. The food they take to
their young is juicy berries and the softer portions of the young
cones of the fir and spruce.
They nest generally in firs, spruces, or cedar-trees, though
occasionally on the upper branches of a high apple-tree. Their nests
are usually placed upon a branch, rather than interlaced between its
forked twigs. I have known them not more than five feet from the
ground, and at other times on the highest point of a lofty fir-tree.
The nests are, for the most part, somewhat flat and shallow
structures, not more than two and a half inches in height, and about
three and a half in breadth. The walls of the nest average less than
an inch, and the cavity corresponds to its general shape and form. The
framework of the nest is usually made of small denuded vegetable
fibres, stems of grasses, strips of bark, and woody fragments. The
upper rim of the nest is often a curious intertwining of dry
herbaceous stems, the ends of which project above the nest itself in
the manner of a low palisade. The inner nest is made up of minute
vegetable fibres, closely interwoven. There is usually no other lining
than this. At other times these nests are largely made up of small
dark-colored rootlets of wooded plants, lined with finer materials of
the same, occasionally mingled with the down of birds and the fur of
small animals.
The eggs of the Purple Finch vary greatly in size, and somewhat in
shape. Generally they are of an oblong oval, pointed considerably at
one end. Their length varies from .92 to .81 of an inch, and their
breadth from .70 to .60. Their color is a pale shade of emerald-green,
spotted with dark brown, almost black, chiefly about the larger end.
The ground-color is much brighter when the eggs are fresh, and soon
fades upon exposure to light, and even when kept in a close drawer.
Carpodacus purpureus, var. californicus, BAIRD.