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Bonaparte, Charles Lucian, 1803-1857 / American ornithology, or, The natural history of birds inhabiting the United States, not given by Wilson : with figures drawn, engraved, and coloured, from nature
(1825)
Female American goldfinch. Fringilla tristis. Plate VI. Fig. 4, pp. 57-60
Page 60
FEMALE AMERICAN GOLDFINCIH in the spring and autumn we rarely find two that are alike; some being more or less yellow, having a rudiment of black on the head, &c. according as the moulting process is more or less advanced. A remarkable variety is exhibited in a changing male, which I shot near Philadelphia, in the month of April, and which is there- fore considerably advanced towards perfect plumage. All the primaries are pure white on the outer web towards the base, thus constituting, in the most obvious manner, that white spot beyond the wing coverts, assigned by Say as a good discriminating mark between this species and the preceding. The fact we have related diminishes the value of this character, which is nevertheless a very good one; but as many other distinctions are observable, we need not rely exclusively upon it. The deviation we have here men- tioned is the more remarkable, as the greater number of species allied to this bird have that spot either white or yellow. Since writing the above, I obtained, from one of the large flocks in which these birds congregate in the autumn, several specimens of both sexes, more or less distinguished by the marking above stated as peculiar to the variety. 60
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