FINCHES. i8t 



his companion began to be clamorous for food, set to work to satisfy its appe- 

 tite, and tended it like an affectionate nurse : when he found that a grasshopper 

 which he brought to his nursling was too large for it to swallow, he broke it 

 into small pieces, which he passed through his bill to soften them, and then 

 placed in the expectant mouth of the little cow-bird with the greatest gentle- 

 ness. The length of the cow-pen bird is about seven inches ; its plumage is 

 black with a greenish gloss. The female is of a brown colour, paler below. 



The type of this sub-family is — 



The Capped Troop-Bird {Chrysonms frontalis). 



FAMILY IV. 



THE FINCHES. FRINGILLID.^. 



General Characteristics. — Bill short, thick, strong, and more or less conical, 

 without emargination at the tip, but generally angular and thick at the base. 



In the family of the Finches, to which belong the Sparrow, the 

 Bunting, the Greenfinch, the Goldfinch, and all our little thick- 

 billed birds, the form of the bill is more decidedly conical than in 

 any other Passeres. Their beak is generally short and stout, but 

 tapering to a fine point ; and the edges of the upper mandible are 

 destitute of those notches near the tip, which, although specially 

 characteristic of the Dentirostral tribes, occur in a less marked 

 degree in many Conirostral species : in only one sub-family (the 

 Tanagers) the upper mandible is distinctly notched, and bent over 

 the lower. Their tongue is rather fleshy, but horny towards the 

 tip, where it usually presents a slit. The feet are slender, the tarsi 

 generally covered in front with seven horny plates, which, however, 

 are sometimes conjoined so as to form a single long shield. The 

 toes are of moderate length, and terminated by rather slender 

 curved claws. The tail is composed of twelve feathers. 



The finches are all small birds, and exhibit much activity as 

 they hop along upon the ground, or leap from twig to twig among 

 the trees and bushes. Their flight is undulatory, rising as by an 

 effort through a certain space, and then sinking, as the wings are 

 closed, for a similar distance. Their food consists principally of 

 seeds, for the consumption of which the form of their bill is pe- 

 culiarly adapted ; but they also pick up insects and worms, espe- 

 cially during the breeding season. Their adaptation to a diet of 



