676 MANUAL OF PHILIPPINE BIRDS.. 
The Philippine bush lark is very abundant in the vicinity of Manila 
and great numbers have been noted in the markets in baskets with the 
equally common Formosan skyly 
Family FRINGILLIDZ. 
Bill conical (except in Loxia where the mandibles are crossed) ; com- 
missure, or cutting edges of bill, angulated ;* nostrils basal and near the 
culmen, often hidden by antrorse feathers; rictal bristles moderate in 
length ; wings well developed with only nine primaries; rectrices twelve, 
tail square or slightly forked; tarsus scutellate in front, covered on each 
side by a single plate, and with a sharp ridge behind. 
Genera. 
@*{) Mandibles: faleate’) dhe: tips crossed 22s ett nee ee Loxia (p. 676) 
a*, Mandibles not faleate; the tips not crossed; culmen and gonys straight or 
but little curved. 
b'. Bill blunt and very stout, its width at nostril equal to bill from nostril. 
Pyrrhula (p. 677) 
b*. Bill sharp and slender, or only moderately stout, its width at nostril much 
less than bill from nostril. 
ec’, Culmen and gonys gently curved; tail nearly square; top of head liver- 
brown; a large black patch on chin and throat; no yellow in the 
plum ce joa asco hha eh ees, oe NE AE eee Passer (p. 680) 
ce. Culmen and gonys nearly straight; tail slightly forked; plumage more 
or less yellow. 
ad‘, Gonys relatively long, being about twice as long as its ramus. 
e’. Larger; culmen flat; bill but slightly compressed even at the tip; 
eheah ‘Grange ruions .45.o6 022 sos aye eae ee Fringilla (p. 679) 
e*. Smaller; culmen with a slight ridge; terminal half of bill abruptly 
and greatly compressed; tip acute; chest lemon-yellow. 
Spinus (p. 681) 
d*. Gonys relatively short, being less than twice as long as its ramus. 
Emberiza (p. 682) 
Genus LOXIA Linneus, 1758. 
Bill compressed, the tips crossed; both culmen and gonys strongly 
curved ; wings covering about half the tail. Adult male almost entirely 
red, adult female partly yellow, and young of both sexes heavily streaked. 
*Coues describes this, the most important character of the family, in the 
following words: “But the most tangible characteristic of the family [Fringillide] 
is angulation of the commissure. The commissure runs in a straight line, or 
with a slight curve, to or near to the base of the bill, and is then more or less 
abruptly bent down at a varying angle—the cutting edge of the upper mandible 
forming a reéntrance, that of the lower mandible a corresponding salience. In 
familiar terms, we might say that the corners of the mouth are drawn down— 
that the finches, though very merry little birds, are literally ‘down in the mouth.’ 
In the great majority of cases this feature is unmistakable, and in the grosbeaks, 
for example, it is very strongly marked indeed; but in some of the smaller-billed 
forms, and especially those with slender bills, it is hardly perceptible.” 
