NORTHERN REDPOLE. 291 



The next notice of it is in the first edition of 

 Mr Selby's British Birds, where it is figured and 

 described as a variety of the Lesser Redpole, 

 from a specimen in our own collection, shot near 

 Edinburgh, and which is now before us. More 

 lately, British specimens have been described by 

 Mr Eyton and Mr Yarrell, under Mr Gould's 

 title of Linaria canescens ; the bird itself being 

 beautifully represented in the last named orni- 

 thologist's " Birds of Europe/' By our modern 

 ornithologists the Continental species are con- 

 sidered identical with those of Britain, and also 

 with those brought from North America ; but on 

 the other hand, the Prince of Musignano, in his 

 last comparative list, considers that there are two 

 European species, the L. canescens, Gould, and 

 the L. borealis of Savi ; the latter only being 

 also common to the North American Fauna. In 

 these circumstances it will be seen that there may 

 be some difficulty in referring the bird now 

 before us to these two species of the Prince's list, 

 and consequently to its distribution. We have, 

 therefore, confined our synonims to those of 

 British authors describing from British birds, 

 though it is possible, in doing this, that we may 

 be now overlooking the circumstance that the 

 Prince's two species may be both good ones, and 

 both present occasionally in Britain. 



Of the habits of this Linnet we do not yet know 

 much. It is known to the London bird-catchers 

 as distinct from the little species, and has been 

 noted as occurring abundantly some years, and 



