17° GREENFINCH. 



Styled L. aiiraiitiiventris. Eastward, the Greenfinch is found as far 

 as the north-west of Persia and Turkestan ; but in Eastern Siberia, 

 China and Japan, the representative species is L. sinicus, with 

 greyish head, brown mantle, and yellowish-brown under parts. As a 

 straggler the Greenfinch has occurred in Madeira, and as an intro- 

 duced species in the United States. 



The nest is placed in hedges, shrubs and evergreens, often in 

 tolerably tall trees or amongst ivy, and occasionally in such unusual 

 situations as a cavity in a tree or a hollow at the top of a gate-post. 

 It is commonly a rather loose and slovenly structure, built (without 

 much attempt at adaptation to the surroundings) of coarse fibrous 

 roots, moss and wool, with a lining of finer materials, hair, and feathers. 

 The eggs, 4-6 in number, are pale greenish-white, blotched, spotted, 

 or even zoned with reddish-brown and purplish-grey : measure- 

 ments -83 by -55 in. Not unfrequently several nests may be found 

 in proximity. The first laying takes place at the end of April 

 or early in May, and two broods are often reared in the season. 

 The young are fed upon caterpillars and other insects, and soft 

 seeds ; later, berries of various kinds are also consumed ; and in 

 autumn flocks may be seen on the stubbles. The song is poor, 

 while the call-note is a long-drawn twe e-eer, reiterated by the male 

 as he sits on the top of a bush. In confinement the Greenfinch is 

 easily domesticated, and shows a moderate capacity for learning 

 the songs of other birds, while it interbreeds with several species 

 of Finch ; also, in a wild state, with the Linnet. 



The adult male has the lores dusky-black ; forehead greenish- 

 yellow ; a golden-yellow stripe over each eye ; crown, neck and 

 mantle olive-green, turning to yellow on the rump; secondaries 

 brownish-grey, darker on the shafts and inner margins ; quills greyish- 

 brown with yellow outer webs ; central tail-feathers and terminal 

 portion of the rest blackish-brown with greyish edges, the basal por- 

 tions yellow ; under parts greenish-yellow, greyer on the flanks ; bill 

 dull flesh-colour, darkest at the tip ; legs and feet pale wood-brown. 

 Length of the large form about 6 in., and wing 3-5 in. ; but a brilliant 

 specimen of the smaller race, now before me, measures rather less 

 than 5 in. and the wing hardly 3-2 in. The female is somewhat 

 smaller and far less brightly coloured than the male, the head and 

 mantle being greenish-brown with darker striations ; the outer webs 

 of the primaries barely edged with yellow; and the under parts 

 generally dusky, with very little yellow. The young are dull brown, 

 tinged with yellow, and spotted and streaked with darker brown. 



