166 



PASSERES. 



FRINGILLIDiE. 



FRIJSGILLIDjF.. 



Pyrrhula EUROPiEA, Vieillot*. 

 THE BULLFINCH. 



Pyrrhula vuh/arisj-. 



Pyuriiula, Brissont- — Bill hard, short, broad and thick at the base, bulging at 

 the sides ; culmen rounded ; upper mandible considerably longer than the lower, 

 and overhanging its j)oint. Nostrils basal, supernal, round, more or less hidden 

 Vjy pi'ojecting and recurved frontal plumes. Gape slightly arched. Wings rather 

 short, with the first primary finely attenuated and so small as to seem wanting, 

 the third or fifth longest in the wing. Tail moderate, square or forked. 

 Tarsus scutellate in front, covered at the sides by a single plate, stout and 

 shortish. Claws moderately curved, rather .short and strong. 



The Bullfinch, though far less abundant than most of 

 the other members of the family indigenous to this country, 

 is yet too common a bird not to be well known all over these 

 kingdoms. Shy and retiring in its habits, except at one 

 season of the year, it is far more often heard than seen, and 



* Nouv. Diet. d'Hist. Nat. Ed. 2, iv. p. 286 (1S16). 

 t Temminck, Man. d'Orn. Ed. 2, i. p. 338 (1820). 

 J Ornithologic, iii. p. 3<iS (17(>0). 



