The Mealy Redpoll 73 



I always purchase my Goldfinches as "Grey-pates"; and as they have plenty 

 of exercise and abundance of nourishing food, ruy birds when adult are frequently 

 mistaken by breeders for "Russians"; when first turned out they always have 

 plenty of hemp and teasel, with groundsel and chickweed ; and there is usually a 

 saucer of soft-food in the aviary : the colours of the male birds are wonderfully 

 pure and brilliant, and the birds themselves are large and well-formed. 



Mule-breeding between Goldfinch and Canary is easy enough, for I was 

 successful in my first essay ; but between the Goldfinch and other Finches, there 

 is more difficulty (although this species sometimes hybridizes with the Greenfinch 

 in a wild state) especially in the case of the only reality handsome cross — between 

 the Goldfinch and Bullfinch. The variety of Goldfinch known as a " Cheverel " 

 is sometimes preferred for muling purposes ; it diifers from the normal form in 

 having the centre of the throat white. 



The bird-catchers assert that Goldfinches from different parts of our islands 

 sing differently ; and they call the best singers " Slammers," from a fancied 

 resemblance of part of the song to the words — " Slam-so-witty, slippity-cur," with 

 other rubbish which no bird could whistle. 



Family— FRIXGILLID.^E. Suhfamilx—FRIXGILLLW-E. 



The Mealy Redpoll. 



Acanihis liiiaria, LiNN. 



SEEBOHM treats the Redpolls as races of one species, but considers that the 

 typical form, A. linaria, and the two extremes, A. ni/csccus and A. 

 Iiorncmanni, are worthy of subspecific rank ; at least that seems to me to 

 be the only construction to be put upon his observations. Howard Saunders, on 

 the other hand, unites A. linaria and A. horncmanni, remarking: — "for the sake 

 of convenience, I propose to treat the Mealy Redpolls under one heading, and to 



