A History of North American Birds; Land Birds; Vol. 2 of 3Baird, Spencer Fullerton
Science
A History of North American Birds; Land Birds; Vol. 2 of 3
Baird, Spencer Fullerton
Birds -- North America
Dr. Cooper considers the name of Cañon Finch ill applied to this
species, as it is equally plentiful in level districts, wherever trees
and shrubbery exist. He regards it as one of the most abundant and
characteristic birds of California, residing in all the lower country
west of the Sierras, and extending up the slopes of the Coast Range to
the height of three thousand feet. They are said to have habits very
similar to those of all the other species, living much upon the
ground, and seeking their food among the dead leaves, which they
greatly resemble in color. This resemblance Dr. Cooper regards as a
great protection to them from Hawks; their hues also correspond with
those of the earth and the dusky foliage during most of the year. They
are thus less conspicuous in the light, and they venture more
fearlessly forth and feed in open grounds.
They have but little song, and only utter a few faint chirps and
hurried notes, as they sit perched upon some low bush, in the spring.
At San Diego Dr. Cooper saw the first nest with eggs on April 17, but
some birds had laid much earlier, as he found young hatched by the
20th. He afterwards observed other nests, all of which were built in
bushes, from two to four feet from the ground, and all but one
contained three eggs; the other had four. He has found them built in
low trees, and one in a vine growing over the porch of a house. The
nest is formed of coarse twigs, bark, and grass, is thick and large,
and is lined with fine root-fibres and finer grasses. The eggs are
pale blue, spotted with purplish-brown blotches, mostly small and
scattered. He gives the measurement of the eggs as .90 by .65 of an
inch. In the more northern part of the State they are said to lay four
eggs oftener than three. They are supposed by him to have two broods
in a season.
Colonel McCall has no doubt that they are found throughout California,
as he has met with them from the upper waters of the Sacramento to the
mouth of the Gila; the former having its origin in the extreme north,
and the latter touching the extreme southern boundary of the State. It
is most abundant south of Santa Barbara.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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