196 



FINCHES. 



Africa, where they prefer arid plains or sandy places, sparingly covered with 

 small shrubs, on which they often perch, or sometimes run and hide themselves 

 among the long grass. One species is remarkable for making a noise by clap- 

 V-ing their wings when rising from the ground, so as to be heard at some distance. 



Fig. 104. — The Skylakk {Alanda arvensis\ 



They rarely mount above fifteen or twenty feet into the air, and while rising utter 

 a short song, chiefly at daybreak or sunset. Their food consists of small seeds 

 and insects. Their nest is made in a hollow on the ground, and the female 

 lays from four to six eggs. 



Sub-Family VII. 

 THE BULLFINCHES. PYRRHULIN.E.* 



General Characteristics. — Bill very short, strong, more or less compi-essed, and 

 entire, with the culmen arched and convex ; the wings moderate and somewhat 

 rounded ; the tail moderate and slightly eniarginated ; the tarsi short and scutellated; 

 and the toes moderate, the lateral ones generally unequal. 



The birds composing this sub-family are inhabitants of Europe 

 and the northern parts of India, where they are usually found in 

 the woods and jungles. They are generally seen in pairs during 



TTv^poiiXas, pyrroulas, from irvppds, pyrros : red, flame-coloured. 



