335 



FRINGILLA MONTIFRINGILLA. THE MOUNTAIN 

 FINCH, OR BRAMBLING. 



MOUNTAIN FINCH. BRAMBLE FINCH. BRAMBLING. 



Fringilla Montifringilla. Linn. Syst. Nat. I. 318. 



Fringilla Montifringilla. Lath. Ind. Orn. I. 425. 



Brambling. Mont. Orn. Diet. 



Grosbec d' Ardennes. Fringilla Montifringilla. Temm. Man. d'Orn. 360. 



Mountain Finch. Fringilla Montifringilla. Selb. Illustr. I. 306. 



Fringilla ^Montifringilla. Mountain Finch. Jen. Brit. Vert. An. L34. 



Male with the head and back deep blacky the feathers margined 

 with yellowish-grey ; the rump tchite^ tinged with yellow ; the 

 fore-neck and breast light reddish-brown ; the sides spotted with 

 black. Female icith the head and back pale greyish-red., the cen- 

 tral part of each feather brownish-black ; the rump greyish-white ; 

 the breast pale reddish-brown. 



Male. — The Brambling is nearly of the same size as the 

 Chaffinch, which it greatly resembles in form. Its bill, al- 

 though of the same shape, is proportionally larger, and presents 

 a remarkable difference, having a toothlike projection on the 

 edge of the lower mandible near the base. The plmnage is 

 soft and blended, the feathers rounded. The wings are of 

 moderate length, the primary quills tapering and rounded, the 

 secondary broader and retuse ; the third quill longest, the 

 second scarcely shorter, the first a little shorter, and of the 

 same length as the fourth ; the second, third, and fourth slightly 

 cut out on the outer web towards the end. The tail, which is 

 of moderate length, is distinctly emarginate, the two middle 

 feathers being nearly half an inch shorter than the lateral, 

 which are curved a little outwards at the end. 



The greater part of the upper mandible and the end of the 

 lower are dusky, the base of the former pale grey, and the basal 

 portion of the latter, with the skin at the angle of the mouth, 



