SISKIN. 277 



the wings are black, the quills and secondaries 

 tipped with white, the proportion increasing on 

 the latter ; across both is an irregular bar of 

 rich yellow produced by the basal half of the 

 outer web of each being of that colour ; the tail, 

 slightly forked, is black, the four centre feathers 

 (at least) being always tipped with white ; on the 

 inner webs of the two outer pairs is a large oval 

 patch of white, which is indicated on the third pair. 

 In the female the colours are all less decided and 

 brilliant. In the first plumage the young birds 

 want the black and crimson on the head, and 

 the other markings are more undecided, the 

 under parts slightly waved across ; as the season 

 advances they gradually attain their full dress, 

 but the birds of late broods may be known in 

 the spring by a slight intermixture of black with 

 the crimson of the chin and forehead. 



THE SISKIN, CARDUELUS SPINUS, Selby. 

 Fringilla spinus, Linn. The Siskin, or Aber- 

 devine of British authors. The Siskin is an 

 example of the other distribution of the shades of 

 the plumage which we alluded to in our short 

 remarks upon the genus. It is here entirely 

 black and yellow, tempered by shades of olive, 

 forming together a very chaste and pleasing mix- 

 ture- This species in Britain is more locally 

 distributed than the last, is migratory to a certain 

 extent in winter, and its appearance seems to 

 depend on some circumstances with which we 



