¥HE PINE-FINCHES. 6l 



by no means rare, and is to be recognised in flight by the 

 white band across the back, which is very conspicuous. 

 Its food consists almost entirely of seeds, fruits, and berries, 

 but it is very partial to the young buds of fruit-trees, and 

 numbers are shot in the spring by gardeners, who resent 

 the havoc which the bird works among the buds of the 

 currant and gooseberry bushes. 



Nest. — A beautiful structure, on account of the network of 

 fine twigs with which it is surrounded, the inside of the nest 

 being neatly constructed of fine rootlets. 



Eggs. — Four to six in number. Ground-colour a clear 

 blue, thickly spotted with red at the larger end, and having 

 conspicuous spots and blotches of purplish brown, in most 

 cases very distinctly pronounced. Axis, 0-75-0-8 inches; 

 diam., 0-55-0-6. 



THE PINE-FINCHES. GENUS PINICOLA. 



Pinicola, Vieill., Ois. d'Amer., Sept., p. iv. (1807). 



Type, P. enucleator (Linn.). 



Only one species of the genus Pinicola is known, which 

 occurs in the northern parts of the Old and New Worlds. It 

 is generally called the Pine "Grosbeak," but it is not a Gros- 

 beak at all, but a Bullfinch ; in fact, it might very well be 

 placed in the genus Pyrrhula, as has often been done. Its 

 large size, however, different style of coloration, and somewhat 

 differently-shaped bill, render it convenient to separate the 

 genus Pinicola from the true Bullfinches. 



I. THE PINE-FINCH. PINICOLA ENUCLEATOR. 



Loxia enucleator, Linn., S. N., i., p. 299 (1766). 



Pyrrhula enucleator, Macg., Br. B., i., p. 411 (1837); Newt. 



ed. Yarr., ii., p. 177 (1877); Saunders, Man., p. 191 



(18S9). 

 Pinicola enucleator, Dresser, B. Eur., iv., p. in, pi. 201 (1874); 



Sharpe, Cat. B. Brit. Mus., xii., p. 459 (1888). 



Adult Male. — Above rosy or crimson ; the upper surface 

 mottled with darker brown markings before the tips of the 



