38 BIRDS OF P. E. ISLAND

sweet whispered notes. Sometimes a solitary bird will get separated from the flock, then the loud [fie—eel rings through the autumn sky, and it is repeated until an answer comes and the wanderer is restored to the bosom of the loving flock. In cold winter weather the birds crowd close to- gether, as if for warmth. They come about hay— stacks for seeds, and will fearlessly alight upon the loads which. the farmer is building, having the innocence of creatures fresh from the untenanted wilds of nature.

Sometimes a rare specimen stays with us all summer and builds its nest in the dark fir thicket. Then the song of the male is a full, rattling melody, like that of the “Linnet,” and scarce less clear and vigorous.

The golden-plumed American Goldfinch (Astra- gzz/z'nus trz'stz's) is a gay rover in the fields of summer. His coat of brilliant yellow, varied with black on the long wing and tail feathers, and his clear, lively twit make him an attractive bird as he bounds about the summer pastures rifling seeds from the downy groups of syngenecious plants. He is here from May till October. The nest is built on a small tree, and is the most neatly