488 FRINGILLID.E. 



The beak of tlic adult male in summer is blue, around the 

 base is a line of black, which on the lore reaches to the eye ; 

 the irides greyish white ; the top of the head, cheeks, ear- 

 coverts, and nape of the neck, fawn colour, lightest on the 

 forehead and cheeks, darkest on the nape of the neck ; lower 

 part of the neck above grey ; upper part of the back, scapu- 

 lars, and part of the tertials, rich chestnut brown ; smaller 

 wing-coverts black ; larger wing-coverts white, except the 

 three nearest the body of the bird, which are fawn colour ; 

 quill-feathers bluish black, with more or less white on tlie 

 inner webs ; the fifth and four succeeding primaries singular- 

 ly formed, like an antique battle or bill-hook, — a figure of 

 a feather is given below ; the other quill-feathers nearer 

 the body are square at the end ; rump and upper tail-coverts 

 fawn colour ; the outside tail-feather on each side black at 

 the base and on the outer wxb, the distal half of the inner 

 web white ; the next four on each side also black at the base, 

 with the ends of both webs white, the proportion of white 

 diminishing in each feather ; the two centre tail-feathers 

 rather shorter than the others, and greyish brown, tipped 

 with white ; chin and throat velvet black : sides of the 

 neck, the breast, and belly, pale nutmeg brown ; under tail- 

 coverts white ; legs, toes, and claws, pale wood-brown. 



The whole length of the bird full seven inches. From the 

 carpal joint to the end of the wing, four inches : the first 

 three quill-feathers very nearly equal in length, but the se- 

 cond rather the longest of the three ; the fourth one eighth of 

 an inch shorter than the third ; the fifth three eighths of an 

 inch shorter than the fourth. 



