524 FRINGILLID.E. 



considered to resemble the Avord " twite," in its sound, and 

 lience tlie name of Twite, by which, as well as by that of 

 Mountain Linnet, this bird is very generally known. Its 

 food consists of any sort of seed of small size. 



Our Mountain Linnet inhabits Denmark, Norway, Sweden, 

 and indeed Scandinavia generally, but is said to be rare in 

 Russia, particularly in the eastern portions. It is observed 

 periodically on its passage in Germany and France, and some 

 are said to remain and breed in the mountains of Switzerland. 

 It is found in Provence, at Genoa, and even as far south as 

 Rome in winter, but retires to the northern mountains to 

 breed in summer. M. Tcmminck says our bird is found in 

 Japan, where it is known by the name of Zuzume. 



The beak is yellow, and lience the term Jlavirostris has by 

 some authors been attached to this species ; the irides hazel ; 

 the forehead, crown of the head, ear-coverts, neck behind, 

 back, and wings, are of two shades of brown, the darker 

 colour pervading the middle of the feather, the lighter wood- 

 brown colour on the edges; the greater wing-coverts only 

 tipped with pale wood-brown, forming one bar across the 

 wing ; quill-feathers brownish black, the primaries Avith nar- 

 row edges, the tertials with broader margins of pale brown ; 

 the rump red ; upper tail-coverts like the back in colour; tail- 

 feathers brownish black, with narrow white external edges, 

 and broader light brown inner margins ; tail deeply forked ; 

 chin and throat uniform reddish yellow brown, without 

 streaks, but streaked on the sides of the lower part of the 

 breast and flanks with dark brown ; lower part of the breast, 

 belly, and under tail-coverts, dull brownish white; legs, toes, 

 and claws, very dark brown. 



The red colour on the rump is a sexual as well as a sea- 

 sonal assumption, peculiar to the male only in summer. The 

 whole length of the bird is five inches and one quarter ; but 

 the body being slender, and the tail-feathers lengthy, this 



