PURPLE FINCH
517. Carpodacus purpureus. 6¼ inches
Male dull rosy red; female streaked brownish gray.
These beautiful songsters are common in the northern tier of states and in Canada. In spring the males are usually seen on, or heard from, tree tops in orchards or parks, giving forth their glad carols. They are especially musical in spring when the snow is just leaving the ground and the air is bracing. After family cares come upon them, they are quite silent, the male only occasionally indulging in a burst of song.
Song.—A loud, long-continued and very sweet warble; call, a querulous whistle.
Nest.—Of strips of bark, twigs, rootlets and grasses, placed at any height in evergreens or orchard trees. The eggs resemble, somewhat, large specimens of those of the [Chipping Sparrow]. They are three or four in number and are greenish blue with strong blackish specks (.85 × .65).
Range.—N. A. east of the Rockies, breeding from Pennsylvania and Illinois northward; winters throughout the United States.
