HYBRIDS BETWEEN TWO BRITISH BIRDS 



361 



This Hybrid is a little larger than the Gold- 

 fiiich-Siskiii and of somewhat stouter build, 

 following the Grccnluuh largely 



The Sishin= ; 

 Greenfinch. 



in shape of body. Tlie head, 

 however, is smaller and the 

 beak longer — points acquired from the Siskin. 

 An excellent example appears in our coloured 

 plate depicting the h^PPY blending in colour 

 of both parents, the green of the Greenfinch 

 being intensified, while the marking of the 

 Siskin is subdued. The cap is of the Siskin 

 persuasion, though not so black, having a 

 greenish tint. The breast and under surface 

 are a rich, bold bright green-tinted yellow- 

 running off at the vent to a bufTish shade. 



In manner and movements the Hybrid takes 

 much after the Greenfinch. Its song, too, 

 resembles that of the Greenfinch intermingled 

 with a few of the Siskin's lively notes. The 

 hens of this cross are paler and duller in colour, 

 an ashen-grey covering the surface. 



This, one of the smallest of our Hybrids, 



can be bred either from a Goldfinch cock and 



Redpoll hen, or Redpoll cock 



I^^,?^^'lP°"= and Goldfinch hen. The 



Goldfinch. r- * ,1 i 



finest specimen that we ever 



saw was bred in the latter way, and hence our 

 preference for the Redpoll cock as the sire, 

 and reference to our coloured plate will convey 

 a capital impression of this Hybrid's shape and 

 colour. The specimen to which we have just 

 alluded had the largest Goldfinch blaze we 

 ever saw on one of these Hybrids ; it was 

 bred by Mr. Alexander, near Annan, Scotland, 

 and was successfully exhibited for several years 

 by Mr. E. J. Lamb, of New Maiden, Surrey, 

 who once told us that it was one of the most 

 easily kept birds of his collection. Tliese 

 Hybrids are of lively disposition, ever on the 

 move like the Redpoll, tripping about with 

 a most consequential air, and though not 

 gorgeous in colour except for the blaze on the 

 face, are most attractive birds. The cocks 

 have a short but pretty song, combining the 

 Goldfinch and Redpoll notes. The hens have 

 a much smaller blaze than the cocks and of a 

 pale hazel tint, some, indeed, having but the 

 faintest impression of blaze at all. 



This is, perhaps, the smallest of our Hybrids, 

 and is a graceful, proportionately built bird. 

 It is not quite the rich 

 SUKin^ colour of the Siskin-Green- 



finch, but its happy blending 

 of the Redpoll brown and yellowish green of 

 the Siskin gives a very pleasing effect. The 

 head in shape and colour is similar to the hen 

 Siskin, with just a tint of brown in the marking, 

 and the bill, too, follows the same parent. The 

 Redpoll-Siskin is a cheerful little bird, full of 

 life and activity. The cocks have a continual 

 46 



chattering song, and the hens' notes are very 

 siiuihir, but in colour and marking the hens 

 are altogether paler and more sober in appear- 

 ance. We had a couple of these Hybrids in 

 1896, and found them not at all difiicult to 

 keep in good health and condition. The cross, 

 however, has not been a great success on the 

 show bench, and we think that a separate class 

 .should be given in which the various smaller 

 Hybrids could compete together, instead of, 

 as now, being outclassed in competition against 

 the larger crosses. If a separate class were 

 provided fanciers would find some inducement 

 to breed these smaller hybrids in larger numbers. 

 We now come to some even more sombre 

 coloured Hybrids, and amongst these is the 

 Redpoll-Greenfinch, a small 



The Redpolls 

 Greenfinch. 



but chubbily built bird. This 

 cross is not an easy one to 

 secure, and when obtained it has little to 

 recommend it as an exhibition bird except its 

 rarity. In colour it Is a dingy green, slightly 

 streaked with dark brown, and the outer web 

 of the flight feathers of the wing are lightly 

 tinged with yellow, and though not striking in 

 colour the plumage carries a beautiful sheen 

 on its surface. The hens are more dingy in 

 colour, with a decided ashy-grey shade over 

 the surface of the body colour, and lack the 

 yellow in the wing. The cock's song is a 

 continued chatter, with a good de;il of " churr " 

 about it. The bird is fairly active in its 

 movements, and has a graceful carriage and 

 close and compact feathers. This and other 

 sober-coloured Hybrids are much handicapped 

 at shows by having to compete with more 

 attractively coloured birds, and in common 

 with the smaller Hybrids, which suffer from 

 lack of size, should have separate classification. 

 The Siskin-Linnet is a trifle smaller than 

 the Linnet, but a little larger than the Siskin. 

 Its general colour is that of 

 the Linnet, a reddish-brown 

 with darker stripes, tinted 

 here and there with the yellowish green of the 

 Siskin, especially on the cheeks, breast, and 

 flanks. It is of lively disposition, and the 

 cocks have a cheerful song, chiefly that of the 

 Linnet intermingled with a few of the sharp 

 notes of the Siskin. The hens are buffer 

 on the cheeks, breast, and flanks than the cocks, 

 with but the faintest impression of the greenish 

 tint. 



This Hybrid is about the size of a Linnet, 

 but a liltle stouter in build and fuller in neck, 

 with a larger head, and it also 

 The L,innet= y^.^^ ^ stouter bill, character- 

 reen inc . j^jj^g obtained from the Green- 

 finch. Its colour is a blending of the two 

 parents, though the brown of the Linnet 



The SisKin= 

 Linnet. 



