1578 THE PERCHING BIRDS 



Himalayan form extends from China and L,adakh to Sikkim, and thence into Tibet 

 and Western China, and recently a crossbill (L. luzoniensis} has been found in the 

 Philippines. 



Nearly allied to the crossbills is the scarlet finch (Hamatospiza sipahi), from 

 the mountains of Nipal and Sikkim, distinguished by the very strong and stout beak 

 being of normal form. The cock bird of this species is red, while the hen is green; 

 a remarkable feature of both sexes being the white color of the bases of the feathers 

 of the head and neck, which are seen conspicuously when the feathers are at all 

 ruffled. The wing is of considerable length, reaching beyond the middle of the tail. 

 The scarlet finch is an inhabitant of both forest and bushy districts, and utters a 

 loud whistling note. 



The genus Telespyza includes a handsome finch recently discovered 

 in the Pacific, and is characterized by the bill being short and much 

 arched, with the upper mandible showing a tendency to cross the lower, as in the 

 crossbill; the wings are of moderate length, reaching to about the end of the basal 

 third of the tail feathers; the tail is slightly forked; and the feet are remarkably 

 large and strong. This bird is peculiar to the island of Laysan, in the Pacific, and 

 we owe its discovery to Mr. Scott Wilson, who obtained a specimen at Honolulu. 

 This was one of about forty, brought there by Captain Bohm, who had found the 

 birds common among the scrubby bushes covering the surface of their island home, 

 where they were so excessively tame and unsophisticated that their capture with the 

 hand was an easy matter. Mr. Wilson says that a specimen which he took to 

 England alive has a very clear metallic note, which may be rendered, chwit, chwee. 

 It also twitters and chirps as it hops from side to side of the cage, and is altogether 

 lively in its movements; while it is able to force the wires of its cage by means of its 

 powerful bill. The adult has the head and sides of the face olive green, shading 

 behind into dark chestnut brown on the back, where each feather has the centre 

 black; the rump and upper tail coverts are chestnut brown; the primaries black, 

 edged with yellow; the tail is black, having each feather edged with greenish yellow; 

 and the throat and breast are bright greenish yellow passing into white on the under 

 parts. 



The Oriental genera Propyrrhula and Pyrrhospiza, intermediate be- 

 tween the crossbills and rosefinches, are among the most interesting 

 of the remaining members of the subfamily. The red -headed rosefinch (Propyr- 

 rhula subhimalayensis) is found in the more open parts of the woods in Northwestern 

 India. The male has a brownish-crimson body with bright crimson forehead, 

 cheeks, and throat, the brown wings and tail having reddish margins; the female 

 is not unlike the female of H&matospiza sipahi, but much yellower in colora- 

 tion. The female or the red-breasted rosefinch (Pyrrhospiza punicea) is almost 

 exactly like the females of all the species of Carpodacus, including not only the com- 

 mon species C. erythtinus already noticed, but the Caucasian species C. rubicilla 

 and the Central Asian Severtzow's finch, C. severtzowi. The male, however, is 

 easily distinguishable, being a brownish bird with crimson forehead and throat and 

 breast, the crown being black, like the back, the feathers being each margined with 

 light brown. The horn-brown bill is stouter and shorter than that of the red- 



