THE FINCHES 1563 



githaginea), the western representative of the genus, is found in the Canaries, the 

 Sahara, and Egypt, extending eastward through Afghanistan and Baluchistan to 

 the Punjab, while the mongolian desert finch (E. mongolica] inhabits the deserts of 

 Central Asia, extending its range eastward into Western China. 



The common desert finch is an inhabitant of the most sterile regions. Its 

 habits in the Canaries have been described by Dr. Bolle, who writes that "it is 

 always found in sociable little groups, when the cares of the breeding season do not 

 keep it solitary. The cheerful little bird dances from stone to stone, or glides 

 about near the ground; but seldom can our sight follow it far into the landscape, for 

 the reddish-gray feathers of the old bird mix closely with the colors of the stones 

 and leafless stems and twigs of euphorbia, as the buff of the young does with the 

 pale yellow of the sand or chalk. We should lose it if its voice, which is one of its 

 most striking peculiarities, did not guide us to it. Listen! A note like that of a 

 small trumpet trembles through the air and vibrates continuously; and if we are 

 very attentive, we shall hear, just before and just after it, two gentle, light notes, 

 ringing like silver bells through the still desert, or the almost imperceptible chords 

 of an harmonium played by unseen hands. Again it changes, and this time its 

 notes resemble the deep croak of the green frog of the Canaries, but less coarse, 

 hastily repeated one after another. . . . The desert finch does not appear fre- 

 quently on the steep, rocky hills. . . . It is much more partial to the black 

 lava streams of the desert, which, full of gaping rents and chasms, hardly permits 

 a blade of grass to become green. They feed entirely or almost so on the seeds 

 either of grasses, which are found like a mealy kind of bread in their stomachs 

 when killed, or the oily seeds of composite and cruciferous plants, which they shell, 

 like other finches, by moving them most carefully backward and forward between 

 the mandibles of their strong beaks. ' ' This bird will also eat tender young leaves, 

 Mr. Hume having observed it in Sind feeding in desert places in patches of mustard 

 and other cultivation. It cannot long dispense with water, and must often fly some 

 miles daily to get it, and the presence of these finches in the desert is always a good 

 omen for the thirsty traveler. ' ' I have constantly seen them, ' ' continues our author, 

 "fly to drink in flocks. They drink much at a time in long draughts, between 

 which they lift up their heads. After drinking they are very fond of bathing. I 

 have never seen them roll about in the dust like sparrows. The breeding time 

 begins in March, and like those of most true desert birds the nest is well concealed, 

 and with such foresight that it can hardly ever be found. ... I know, how- 

 ever, from the goat herds of Fuertaventura, that the moras, as they are called there, 

 build in crevices under large overhanging stones upon the ground. The nest has 

 a tolerably strong texture, and is woven with the coarse straws of the desert grass 

 and lined within with great feathers, mostly of the ostrich and bustard, as well as 

 the wool of the camel and hair of the goat. The number of eggs is from three to 

 five. . . . They are rather large for the bird, pale sea green, or lighter, with 

 small spots and points of reddish brown. These finches certainly breed twice, if not 

 more frequently. The second molt takes place in July." The desert finch occa- 

 sionally strays from its southern home into the Mediterranean region. The adult 

 male in the breeding season has the upper plumage, including the crown, ashy gray; 



