•>n9 



CONIROSTEES. 



SUB-FAMILY VII. 



Pyrrhulix.e.* 



The Bullfinches. 



Gen. Charac. — Bill very short, strong, more or less compressed, and entire, 

 with the culmen arched and convex; the vrings moderate and somewhat 

 rounded ; the tail moderate and slightly emarginated ; the tarsi short and 



' scutellated ; and the toes moderate, the lateral ones generally unequal. 



Fig. lOJ.— the bullfinch. 

 (Pyrrh ida rnbicilla.) 



The birds composing this sub-family are inha- 

 bitants of Europe and the northern parts of India, 

 where they are usually found in the woods and 

 jungles. They are generally seen in pairs during 

 the spring, and afterwards congregate in small par- 

 ties for the remainder of the year. Their food 

 varies with the season; in the spring it consists 

 principally of buds, and at this time the Bullfinches 

 occasion much injury to the fruit and other trees ; 



* TTvppovXag. pyrroulas, from Trvppog, pyrros, r&l^ f.ame-coloured. 



