472 GRANIVOROUS BIRDS. 



FINCHES. (Fringilla, Lin.) 



In these birds the bill is short, robust, conic on all sides, and 

 generally without notch ;. upper mandible wider than the lower, 

 somewhat turgid, and a little inclined at tip ; without keel, depress- 

 ed at the upper part, and often prolonged into an angle entering the 

 feathers of the forehead. Nostuils basal, round, covered by the 

 feathers of the frontlet. Tojvgue thick, acute, compressed, and bifid 

 at tip. Feet, tarsus shorter than the middle toe ; toes disconnected 

 to the base ; hind nail largest. — Wings short ; 1st and 2d primaries 

 but little shorter than the 3d or 4th, which is longest. 



The male differs from the female principally in the breeding sea- 

 son. The young in the 2d season resemble the adult ; and the Eu- 

 ropean and North American species generally moult only once in 

 the year ; those of warmer climates usually undergo a double 

 moult. 



These birds live on all sorts of seeds and grain, which they shell 

 before swallowing ; at times they also add insects to their fare ; they 

 inhabit all parts of the world, and are particularly numerous in the 

 warmer regions ; they are prolific, raising several broods in the sea- 

 son, and display often considerable art in the fabrication of their nests, 

 which are usually built in trees and bushes. They flock together in 

 considerable numbers, and migrate in bands; live in woods and 

 thickets, and are familiar often in gardens and orchards ; many alight 

 also on the ground, in quest of their multifarious, but principally veg- 

 etable food. Of all the winged tribes, after Pigeons and Gallinace- 

 ous birds, these are the most easily accustomed to the domestic state, 

 and many are esteemed for the vigorous music of their song, which 

 is often a loud and fifing trill ; some of them have likewise been 

 taught to perform a variety of actions evincing an extraordinary de- 

 gree of docility.* The North American species are divided into 4 

 subgenera by Prince C. Bonaparte, which all, at the same time, pass 

 insensibly into each other. 



§ I. With the palate rather prominent, and sometimes with the 

 rudiment of a tubercle. 



* For an account of which see the Introduction, pp. 2], 22. 



