392 CARDUELIS. THISTLEFINCH. 



Eyes of moderate size ; eyelids feathered, their edges bare and 

 papillar. External ears large, oval. 



Head rather small, oblong ; neck short ; body ovate, rather 

 slender. Legs short ; tarsus very short, compressed, covered 

 anteriorly with seven scutella, posteriorly with a long plate 

 forming a sharp edge, and inferior rugcT ; toes slender, com- 

 pressed, covered above with few large scutella, narrow and 

 granulate beneath ; the second and fourth equal, the first a 

 little shorter, the third much longer. Claws long, slender, 

 compressed, arched, laterally grooved. 



Plumage soft, blended, the feathers rounded, with a slender 

 plumule composed of a few* loose filaments ; those at the base 

 of the bill \\4th short bristle-points. Wing rather broad. 

 Primary quills ten, secondary seven, the three outer quills 

 nearly equal, the second longest, the third shorter than the 

 first ; the second, third, and fourth slightly cut out on the ex- 

 ternal margin towards the end ; the primaries rounded, the 

 secondaries emarginate. Tail shortish, emarginate, the lateral 

 feathers slightly bent outwards. 



The genus Carduelis is very intimately allied to the preced- 

 ing, the principal dilFerence being in its having the bill more 

 slender and elongated. The species are all small, and gene- 

 rally of lively colours, the wings marked with yellow. They 

 are extensively distributed, and some occur on both continents. 

 Although they occasionally descend to the ground, they usually 

 seek their food on trees or tall herbaceous plants, of which, 

 especially the Amentacese and Compositae, they pick the seeds. 

 In Britain two species occur ; the Red-fronted Thistlefinch or 

 Goldfinch, C. elegans^ and the Siskin, C. sjnnus ; both per- 

 manent residents, but the latter appearing irregularly in flocks 

 during autumn and winter, although breeding in Scotland. 



