FRINGILLA MONTIFRINGILLA. 405 



winter migrant, like the snowflake, arriving in autumn and 

 leaving us in spring. It is rare here, but I have seen it in the 

 upland vicinity with chaffinches amongst stubble — so alike as 

 hardly to be distinguished at a short distance. The head, nape of 

 neck, and upper part of the back are black j the feathers 

 margined with yellowish grey; throat, breast, scapulars, and 

 wing-coverts pale brown ; greater quills black, with a white spot 

 at the base ; the margins of the outer webs pale yellow ; sides 

 orange, spotted with black ; rump and belly yellowish white ; 

 iris, brown. In summer the head, neck, and back become 

 black, without the grey. Like the chaffinch, its plumage varies, 

 brighter in summer. It is a native of the north of Europe, and 

 breeds in the pine forests of the mountainous districts on high 

 spruce and other firs. The nest is of moss and wool, lined with 

 feathers and hair, like the chaffinch's, but not so neat ; eggs 

 also similar. I know of no instance of its breeding in Britain 

 wild, but a gentleman in Suffolk had a large aviary surrounded 

 with ivy, and shrubs inside, in which they bred, and had their 

 eggs in June. 



The next genus in this arrangement is 



Genus, Carduelis. 



The Goldfinch. 



This is a beautiful group, but we have only two species in 

 Britain — the Siskin and the Goldfinch. The rest are widely 

 distributed throughout the world. Their habits are arboreal ; 

 food chiefly seeds. Their bills are slender, and drawn to a sharp 

 point to enable them to pick out small seeds. 



