BIRDS OF THE BRITISH ISLES. 



23 



Cbaffincb* 



^^MlsiiiMim^ 



The Chaffinch i^Fringilla ca^Iebs, Linnaeus), which is a 

 resident species in the British Isles, is also found in most 

 parts of Europe, but is rarely met with in North-Western 

 Africa. The adult male in summer has the forehead black ; 

 crown and nape, slaty-grey ; back, reddish-brown ; rump, 

 sap-green ; scapulars, grey, tipped with brownish ; cjuills, 

 dusky, with narrow margins of white ; lesser and median 

 wing-coverts, white ; greater coverts, blackish, with broad 

 white tips ; central tail-feathers, grey ; remainder, dark 

 brown ; two outermost rectrices on either side, white on the 

 inner margins ; sides of head, and lower part of plumage, 

 reddish-brown, shading into white on abdomen ; bill, 

 dusky ; irides, hazel ; legs, dull brown. Length, about six 

 inches. The female's head and back are olive-brown ; 

 cheeks, throat, and breast, pale yellowish-grc-y. 



