The pattern the same as above, but the dark tint intensified and
spread so as to almost entirely obliterate any lighter markings,
except the streaks on the rump; the wing-bands as well as the dorsal
streaks obsolete; streaks on the sides broader; frontal band dusky
like the occiput. Red tints slightly intensified. Bill wholly dusky.
♂. Throat, jugulum, breast, and tinge on sides and rump, rosy-carmine.
Var. _linarius_ (type of “_fuscescens_”). Wing, 2.80; tail, 2.30;
bill, .36 and .25; tarsus, .53; middle toe, .33.
Var. _holbölli_ (type of “_rostratus_”). Wing, 3.00; tail, 2.35; bill,
.41 and .30; tarsus, .60; middle toe, .40.
Var. _holbölli?_ (54,477, Kodiak, July). Wing, 2.90; tail, 2.20; bill,
.40 and .25; tarsus, .56; middle toe, .32.
♀. No red except on the crown.
Var. _linarius_ (♀ type of “_fuscescens_”). Wing, 2.80; tail, 2.30;
bill, .35 and .25; tarsus, .52; middle toe, .34.
_Young_ (first plumage). (54,478, Kodiak, July.) Streaks covering
whole head, neck, and breast; no red (RIDGWAY).
HAB. Circumpolar regions. In North America breeding in the sub-arctic
regions, and in winter descending into the northern United States.
The two races of _Æ. linarius_ are quite differently colored in summer
and in winter. In the latter season the plumage is softer and more
lax, and the markings better defined, though in autumn with a
considerable ochraceous suffusion. In spring the colors are purer, and
the markings most sharply defined; in the breeding-season the plumage
assumes a burnt appearance, the dark tints intensify and spread, so
that sometimes the upper parts appear almost uniformly dusky; the bill
appears larger, in consequence of the less development of its basal
tufts, than in winter. In this dusky summer condition these birds form
the _Æ. fuscescens_ and _Æ. rostratus_ of Coues, the latter being the
summer plumage of var. _holbölli_, the former that of var. _linarius_.
In the series of over two hundred examples examined, all midsummer
specimens are in the plumage of _fuscescens_ or _rostratus_, while the
latter is not seen in any autumnal, winter, or spring birds.
Specimens of the var. _holbölli_ have been received from Quebec,
collected by Mr. W. Couper.
HABITS. Accepting as variations due either to locality, latitude, or
season the differences already referred to in the plumage of this
species, it is not necessary to consider the question of races in
connection with our story of their habits. We possess but very little
information as to their peculiarities as races in these respects.
Treating, then, the Lesser Red-Poll, though appearing in four
differing phases, as one species, we claim it to be common to the
northern portions of both hemispheres.
It is found throughout northern North America from the Atlantic to the
Pacific, is abundant in the boreal regions of Europe, and probably of
Asia also. On the Pacific coast, Dr. Cooper has observed it only as
far south as Washington Territory. Farther north it is much more
abundant. Mr. Bannister found it common at St. Michaels, both in
summer and in winter. At Nulato Mr. Dall found this species very
common in winter, and very little less so in summer. He states that
the nest is usually lined with hair, and covered externally with moss,
dry grass, and like materials, built in bushes, near the ground. They
begin to build the 15th of May. The eggs are laid about the 1st of
June, and the young are flying near the end of July. The young of the
first year are dark, with a small patch of brown on the breast. After
their second year the males increase the amount of rose-color on the
head and breast, and the very old birds are quite brilliant in the
breeding-season. At St. Michaels, where there are no trees and very
few bushes; these birds frequently build their nests in the grass.
Mr. Dall states that this bird has no song, but that their cheerful
twittering and chirping, their fearless and sociable ways, their
bright plumage and elegant nests, are quite enough to make them
general favorites.
Richardson found this neat and hardy little bird one of the few
permanent residents of the fur countries, where it was seen, in the
coldest weather, on the banks of lakes and rivers, hopping among the
reeds or clinging to their stalks.
Mr. Lord found this species a rare bird in British Columbia. It was
found in swampy places, where the alders grew thickly, and where there
were large water-plants. To these it clings, pecking at their
seed-pods, or, searching the remaining flowers, feeds upon any insects
they may contain. Their song he describes as a soft and pretty warble,
coming in bursts, the singer perching himself boldly on the top of a
plant, as if to be more plainly heard by his companions. In early
spring they feed on the catkins of the alder and hazel. They winter in
small flocks in Vancouver’s Island.
Holböll states that this species is found irregularly distributed over
Greenland, coming always in the first half of April, a little later
than the Snow-Bunting. It migrates to Greenland from America, and is
much rarer in Iceland. In June it is found nesting near the shore,
and, contrary to the usual nature of birds, is very wild, though at
all times else it is very fearless. At this time the male loses its
beautiful crimson breast, resembles the female, and is much less
gorgeous than in winter. It nests in birches, alders, or willows, and
lays five bluish-white eggs, spotted with clear brown. Towards the end
of August and in September they are seen in small flocks about the
settlements, the male resuming its red breast, and all, both old and
young, being very fearless. In confinement they soon became very tame,
and in a few days would perch upon his hand and struggle with each
other for the hemp-seed that he held to them, though there was plenty
of food in their cage. They feed on seeds and the tops of lichens. By
October they all disappear, and are not seen in Greenland in the
winter.
Wilson states that, in his day, these birds were very common in
Northwestern New York, where they appeared always with the first deep
snow, and were, on that account, called Snow-Birds. In severe winters
they were occasionally, though very rarely, seen in the neighborhood
of Philadelphia, where they were very fond of the seeds of the common
alder, and hung head downwards while feeding, in the manner of our
Goldfinch. They were very unsuspicious, and permitted a near approach
without manifesting any signs of alarm. Mr. Ord, in a subsequent
edition of Wilson, states that these birds rarely visit Philadelphia,
and that it was many years before he could procure specimens. In the
winter of 1813-14 they appeared in a flock of nearly a hundred, and
were so intent in feeding upon the seeds of the _Atriplex hastata_
that they could be closely approached. Their call exactly resembled
that of the Goldfinch. These birds lingered in that neighborhood until
about the middle of April.
Their migration southward in winter is evidently caused more by want
of food than by the state of the temperature. They remain in high
northern regions in the most inclement weather, and often appear among
us in seasons not remarkably cold, and remain until late in the
spring. In 1833, by the 7th of November, the weather still being quite
mild, Nuttall states, they appeared in Massachusetts in considerable
flocks. They regularly assembled in the birch-trees every morning to
feed on the seeds, and were so intent on their employment that it was
often possible to approach the slender trees on which they were
feeding, and strike them off, before they would take wing. They hung
on the twigs with great tenacity, and moved about in reversed
positions, in the manner of the Chickadees. They are described by him
as having a quailing call, similar to that of the Goldfinch, and when
crowding together, in flight, as making a confused chirping, with a
rattling noise, and moving off with a simultaneous twitter. They were
attracted to the pines by the Crossbills, and were busily employed in
collecting the seeds, dropped from the cones as the Crossbills opened
them. They at times fed on the buds of fruit-trees. They were always
found to be fat, even on their first arrival, and there were no
obvious reasons for their movements.
Mr. Boardman speaks of them as common at Calais by the first of the
winter. At Norway, Me., Professor Verrill found them very common in
fall, winter, and spring, and most abundant in March and April. In
Springfield they are, according to Mr. Allen, an irregular and
occasional visitant, coming in very large flocks one year, and again
not seen for several years. In a more recent paper (1870) Mr. Allen
states that during the preceding five years these birds have been
several times very numerous in Massachusetts, appearing in quite large
flocks.
Mr. Audubon met with these birds in Labrador the last of July, and
obtained specimens of different ages. He thinks their notes more like
those of the Siskin of Europe than of our Goldfinch, uttered both when
the birds are on the wing and when they have alighted. They were in
small parties of seven or eight, evidently members of the same family.
They were tame and familiar, and fearlessly returned to the same spot
after having been shot at. They were also remarkably affectionate, and
he frequently observed them passing seeds one to the other in the most
loving manner.
Dr. Coues also observed this bird in Labrador, and described it as _Æ.
fuscescens_. He found it abundant along the coast, and was struck with
its resemblance, in habits, to the _Chrysomitris tristis_. It was
remarkably unsuspicious and familiar, and showed no signs of fear even
when very closely approached. It frequented, almost exclusively, the
scrubby junipers that grow everywhere in open places in thick
impenetrable patches. He describes its flight as irregular, rising and
falling in curves, and seldom protracted to any great distance. While
passing overhead, it uttered a peculiar rattling chirp. He thinks it
has no song.
Dr. Kirtland informs me that early in the winter of 1868 his grandson
picked up a wing-broken male Red-Poll, and placed it in his
greenhouse. It began at once to feed on crumbs of bread and hay-seed,
and rapidly recovered. It soon acquired the habit of leaping from
shelf to shelf, among the plants, and was finally seen climbing up
some stately _Pelargonium_ shrubs, and suspending itself, parrot-like,
by its feet from the limbs, capturing aphides. From that time it took
no other food, living exclusively on the parasitic insects of the
plants. So active was it in capturing these, that for two months it
was not necessary to fumigate the greenhouse to destroy them. From day
to day a female Red-Poll hovered over the building, and her calls were
responded to by the invalid. Later in the season he escaped from his
confinement, and was seen to rejoin his faithful mate, which had
remained near him all the winter. As in Europe, this species in the
Arctic regions of America has been found nesting in low trees and
bushes, from two to six feet from the ground.
The habits and appearance of the birds observed in Europe appear
identical with those of our own. Mr. Yarrell states that of all birds
these are the most easily tamed, and can be readily made to breed in
confinement. In Scotland and in parts of England it is resident
throughout the year, in the summer retiring to the bases of the
mountains, and there breeding in the underwood that skirts the banks
of the mountain streams. It nests in bushes or low trees, such as the
alder and the willow. These are constructed of mosses and the stems of
dry grasses, intermingled with down from the catkins of the willow,
and lined with the same, making them soft and warm. The young are
produced late in the season, and are seldom able to fly before the
first of July. The parent birds are devoted in their attachment.
Pennant relates that in one instance where this bird was sitting on
four eggs, she was so tenacious of her nest as to suffer him to take
her off with his hand, and after having been released she still
refused to leave it. In the winter they descend to the lower grounds,
and there feed on the buds of the birch and alder, to reach which they
are obliged, like the Titmice, to hang from the ends of the branches,
with their backs downward. So intent are they on their work that they
are easily taken alive by means of a long stick smeared with birdlime.
Mr. Selby states that its notes during the breeding-season, though not
delivered in a continuous song, are sweet and pleasing. Captain
Scoresby relates that in his approach to Spitsbergen several of these
birds alighted on his ship. They were so wearied with their long
journey as to be easily caught by the hand. The distance of the
nearest point of Norway renders it difficult to imagine how so
delicate a bird can perform this journey, or why it should seek such a
cold and barren country. European eggs are five in number, of a pale
bluish-green, spotted with orange-brown, principally about the larger
end. They measure .65 by .50 of an inch.
American eggs of this species average .65 by .53 of an inch. Their
color is a light bluish-white, which varies considerably in the depth
of its shading, and this tinge is exceedingly fugitive, it being
difficult to preserve it even in a cabinet. The eggs are generally and
finely dotted with a rusty-brown, and are of a rather rounded oval
shape.
Ægiothus canescens, CABANIS.