Finches. 199 



brown. She has a few small white spots on the wings. 

 The tail is more fan -shaped than those of the Wax- 

 bills. The FIRE FINCH (Estrelda or ^Egintha minima) 

 is a native of Africa, but bears a strong resemblance 

 to the Avadavats in some stages of their plumage. It 

 is somewhat smaller, and the male is of a pure red, 

 with no admixture of black on the forehead, throat, 

 and breast; the rest of the plumage is greenish-brown 

 tinged with red; the tail is nearly black, and the upper 

 tail-coverts are red. The beak is like that of the Ava- 

 davat, but there is a yellow ring round the eyes. This 

 is also a distinguishing mark of the hen Fire Finch, 

 which is very much like the hen Avadavat, but of a 

 somewhat greyer brown, and her tail-coverts are red. 

 These birds do not sing. There is another species, 

 the CARMINE FINCH, or Dark Red Fire Finch (E.or^S. 

 rubricate?), occasionally brought to England. 



The CORDON BLEU (Estrelda phcenicotis), called also 

 the "Crimson-eared Waxbill," "Blue-bellied Finch," 

 etc., is also an African bird. It is rather larger than 

 the Avadavat : the head and back are of a delicate 

 greyish -brown or drab colour, rather deeper on the 

 quill-feathers of the wings; the under part of the body 

 is of a sky-blue, and this colour is rather deeper on 

 the tail-coverts and tail. There is a patch of dirty 

 white on the centre of the stomach. The cheeks are 

 blue, and the male bird has a bright crimson patch on 

 the ears. The hen is somewhat paler altogether, the 



