THE FINCHES 1555 



smaller, and of a much more rosy red, the crest feathers being elongated and 

 stiffened. The adult male of the typical form is deep scarlet vermilion, or rosy red 

 above, with the forehead, chin, and upper throat black; the wings dusky, externally 

 rosy, and the under surface rich vermilion. The female is dull ochreous brown 

 above; the long, crested feathers, wings, and tail being dull vermilion, and the under 

 parts buff, washed with vermilion. 



THE TRUE FINCHES 

 Subfamily FRINGILLIN^, 



The true finches are distinguished from the grosbeak group by their less power- 

 ful bills, and different cranial characteristics; and although their bills are variously 

 modified to meet their manner of life, on the whole they possess many common 

 characteristics. They are found principally in temperate climates. 



Chaffinches possess a rather long and slender bill, conical in shape, 



and the wings are furnished with a first primary so small as to seem 



wanting, the rest of these feathers varying in their comparative length. 



The tail is moderately long and decidedly forked. These finches inhabit Europe 



generally, as well as Western Siberia, Persia, Turkestan, Madeira, and the Canaries 



and Azores. 



The common chaffinch (Fringilla ccelebs) , is abundant in most parts 

 of Europe, being in some districts even more plentiful than the house 

 sparrow. In the British Isles, as on the Continent, it is a general 

 favorite, nesting in close proximity to dwelling houses, and rearing its young- 

 almost under the windows. During the winter, chaffinches consort in large flocks, 

 which break up at the close of the cold weather, when their familiar notes enliven 

 groves and orchards with their melody. In early spring the chaffinch begins to- 

 pair, when the male birds are no longer tolerant of the society of their fellows, but 

 exhibit a high degree of jealousy toward their rivals. Even in the middle of June 

 we have seen cock birds engaged in combat, although such contests usually precede 

 the nesting season. The chaffinch builds its nest in a fruit tree or tall hedgerow; 

 and we recollect one nest built on the trunk of a large tree, which looked! 

 as if it had been placed there by accident rather than by design, so exactly did 

 its gray trimming harmonize with the color of the bark. Mr. Gray remarks 

 that the chaffinch ' ' varies the structure of its nest according to the locality which it 

 happens to frequent. In rural places, away from the dust and smoke prevailing 

 near cities and large towns, the nest is a perfect model in its way for neatness and 

 compactness of form; but in less favorable situations, where the building materials 

 are not so fresh, it is slovenly and untidy. Any large series of nests gives ample 

 proof of this, some being composed entirely of moss closely interwoven, others of 

 lichens laced all over with spiders' webs, while those obtained in the outskirts of 

 Glasgow are built of dirty straws, pieces of paper, and bits of blackened moss 

 intermixed." Mr. Dresser describes a nest which he took in Finland as being of 



