80 • FRINGILLIDJ:. 



the upper half of the back, jet-black glossed with steel-blue 

 on the head, each feather of the neck and back being 

 greyish-white at the base, the lighter portion generally shew- 

 ing in life on the nape, and forming an ill-defined whitish 

 patch thereon ; scapulars pale buif ; least wing-coverts dull 

 orange passing into white ; greater wing-coverts jet-black, 

 tipped with huffy-white, forming a conspicuous bar across 

 the wing ; wing-quills black, narrowly edged outside Avith 

 greyish-white, the inner primaries having also a white patch 

 at the base of the outer web, the tertials broadly edged 

 with buffy-white ; lower half of the back white, intermixed 

 with a few black feathers ; upper tail-coverts black, tipped 

 with greyish- white ; tail-feathers shining black, the middle 

 pair inwardly edged with greyish-white, the outer pair with 

 an elongated white stripe on each side of the shaft at the 

 base and a whitish tip to the inner web ; the chin and throat 

 are commonly of a pale yellowish-buff, but some examples 

 have these parts black like the head*; the upper part of 

 the breast and sides reddish fawn-colour ; lower part of the 

 breast, the belly and lower tail-coverts, dull white ; the 

 flanks spotted with black ; axillary plume, and the smaller 

 lower wing-coverts bright yellow ; the other under wing- 

 coverts white : legs, toes and claws, dark reddish-brown. 



The whole length of the male is six inches and three- 

 quarters, that of the wing three inches and five-eighths ; 

 the second, third and fourth primaries are nearly equal, but 

 the third very slightly exceeds the other two, and is the longest 

 in the wing — the first primary being so small as to seem 

 wanting, and the fifth about one-eighth of an inch shorter 

 than the third and considerably longer than the sixth. 



The male in autumn and winter, as represented in the wood- 

 cut, has the bill bright yellow, tipped with dark horn-colour ; 

 the glossy black feathers of the head and upper parts of the 

 neck and back are more or less obscured by their long mar- 



* Specimens shewiug this peculiarity have been noticed by Latham, Gloger and 

 Messrs. Sharpe and Dresser, and such are in the collections of Messrs. Bond, J. H. 

 Gurney, Swinhoe (from China) and llowley — the last of whom has figured one of 

 them, though in winter-plumage, having the black feathers tipped with brown (Orn, 

 Miscell. p. 90, fig. 2). 



