84. BIRDS. PASSERES. Fringilla. 



Will. Orn. 186. Sibb. Scot. 18. Linn. Syst. i. 318. Penn. Brit. Zool.i. 

 335. Temm. Orn. i. 35? — £, Buck-finch, Horse-finch, Pink, Twink, 

 Skelly ; S, Shilfa ; W, Asgell-arian, Wine ; G, Briecan beatha Com- 

 mon, 



Size of a sparrow. Bill blue, tip black. Irides hazel. Legs brown. Cheeks, 

 neck, and breast pale reddish-brown. Back chesnut, the feathers with pale yel- 

 lowish-grey margins. BeUy and vent white. Bump sulphur-yeUow. Lesser 

 wing-covers white, those of the prunaries black, and those of the secondaries 

 black tipped with yellow. The three first quills black, the outer web with a 

 white edge. Tail, with two middle feathers bluish-grey, the next three black, 

 and the two exterior ones with a white spot on the inner web. Female, with the 

 head and upper parts oil-green ; cheeks and below grey with a tinge of red. 

 — Pairs in March. Nest in trees, of moss or lichens, lined with feathers and 

 hair. Eggs 5, bluish-white, with reddish spots. Young like the female.— 

 Sexes separate into distinct flocks during the winter. 



103. F. montlfringilla. Mountain-finch. — Head, cheeks, 

 nape, and upper parts of the back black ; throat, breast, and 

 shoulders reddish-orange. 



Will. Orn. 187. Linn. Syst. i. 318. Penn. Brit. ZooL i. 337. Temm. 

 Orn. i. 360— A common winter visitant. 

 Length 6^, breadth 10^ inches; weight If ounces. Bill yellowish, tip 

 black, with an indistinct terminal notch. Feet brown. Irides dusky. Covers 

 of the primaries black ; the three first quiUs black. Tail black, the two mid- 

 dle ones with reddish margins. The female has the crown reddish, with a 

 black band above the eyes — Nest on fir-trees. Eggs 5, white, with yellowish 

 spots. Breeds in the north of Eui'ope. — Frequents this country in winter, 

 visiting the corn-yards along with chaffinches. The bright gamboge-yellow 

 at the setting on of the wing is an obvious characteristic mark. It seems to 

 vary in colour with the season, becoming whiter in severe winters. 



104. F. cannabina. Brown Linnet. — Bill bluntly conical ; 

 wing-covers brown. 



Linaria rubra major. Will. Orn. 191. Sibb. Scot. 18 — F. can., Linn. 



Syst. i. 322 — Red-headed Linnet, Penn. Brit. Zool. i. 343 — Fr. can. 



Temm. Orn. i. 364 — £„ Great Red-pole ; 5, Grey Lintie ; W, Lin- 



bengoch Common. 



Length 6, breadth 10 inches; weight an ounce. Bill, strong in proportion 

 as the Green Grosbeak, but the ridge is sharper ; bluish-grey, dark at the tip- 

 Legs and feet brown. Irides hazel. Front and breast carmine-red, throat 

 yellowish-white streaked with brown ; crown, nape, and sides of the neck 

 bluish-grey : above, chesnut-brown Avith pale edges ; below, white with a ru- 

 fous tinge. The first quill black ; the following ones edged with white on 

 boih webs, forming a lengthened white mark on the wings. The quills in- 

 crease in bluntness to the seventh, after which they are emarginate. Tail 

 forked, black, the feathers margined on both sides with white, except the two 

 middle ones. The female has the plumage brown, ^vith pale edges, the white 

 on the wing and tail less, and the belly more inclining to reddish-brown, and 

 in wanting the carmine-red on the front and breast — Nest in furze and low 

 shrubs, of moss and grass, lined with hair. Eggs 5, bluish-white, speckled with 

 purplish-red. Young like the female. In winter, the male resembles the female, 

 although the carmine tinge may be observed upon lifting up the feathers on the 

 front and breast It congregates in large flocks during the winter season. 



105. F. montium. Mountain-Linnet. — Bill triangular; 

 greater wing-covers edged Avith white. 



