FHINGILLA.J AVES INSESSORES. 139 



Var. /3. Linaria borealis, Selb. in Newcast. Nat. Hist. Trans, vol. i. 

 p. 263. Lesser Redpole, (a large variety,) Selb. Illust. vol. i. pi. 53**. f. 2. 

 Mealy Redpole, (Lin. canescens,) Gould, Europ. Birds, part xi. Larger 

 than the more common variety : general plumage paler : rump grayish 

 white : tail rather longer : the two cross-bars on the wings broader and 

 more strongly marked. 



Resident in Scotland and the North of England throughout the 

 year. In the southern counties only a winter visitant, appearing at that 

 season in large flocks, and frequently associating with other species. 

 Nest, according to Selby, placed in a bush or low tree; constructed of 

 moss and the stalks of dry grass, intermixed with down from the catkin 

 of the willow, which also forms the lining. Eggs four or five in number. 

 Young seldom fledged before the end of June or beginning of July. Feeds 

 on the catkins of the birch and alder, as well as on the seeds and buds 

 of other trees. The Var. p. is considered by some as a distinct species, 

 but this point requires further investigation. It is known to the bird- 

 catchers in the neighbourhood of London, by the name of Mealy-backed 

 Redpole, the more common variety being called by them Stone Redpole. 



100. F. cannabina, Linn. (Common Linnet.) Throat 

 yellowish white, with dusky streaks : scapulars and wing- 

 coverts, chestnut-brown : bill thick at the base ; bluish 

 gray : feet brown. 



F. cannabina, Temm. Man. d'Orn. torn. i. p. 364. Common or 

 Brown Linnet, Selb. Illust. vol. i. p. 315. pi. 55. f. 3, 4. Greater 

 Redpole, and Linnet, Mont. Orn. Diet. Bew. Brit. Birds, vol. i. 

 pp. 198 & 202. 



DIMENS. Entire length five inches five lines : length of the bill (from 

 the forehead) five lines, (from the gape) five lines and a half; of the 

 tarsus seven lines and a half; of the tail two inches three lines ; from the 

 carpus to the end of the wing three inches one line : breadth, wings 

 extended, nine inches six lines. 



DESCRIPT. (Male in Spring.) Forehead and breast bright carmine- 

 red : throat and fore part of the neck yellowish white, with longitudinal 

 dusky streaks : crown, nape, and sides of the neck, cinereous : back, 

 scapulars, and wing-coverts, chestnut-brown: middle of the belly and 

 abdomen grayish white ; flanks pale reddish brown : quills black, edged 

 with white, so as to exhibit a longitudinal bar of the latter colour when 

 the wing is closed : tail forked ; the two middle feathers wholly black, 

 and pointed; the rest black, narrowly edged with white on the outer 

 web, and more broadly so on the inner: bill bluish gray; not so much 

 compressed as in the last species : feet brown. In young birds, the red 

 on the breast and forehead is not so intense, or so widely extended. (Male 

 in Winter.) Crown of the head with large dusky spots : back and scapu- 

 lars chestnut-brown, broadly edged with pale yellowish brown : breast 

 cinereous brown, faintly tinged with red, the tips of the feathers yel- 

 lowish white : flanks with large oblong brown streaks. (Female.) Smaller 

 in size. All the upper parts pale cinereous brown, with dusky spots ; 

 wing-coverts reddish brown: under parts pale reddish, inclining to 

 white on the belly : breast and flanks with streaks of dusky brown. 

 (Egg.) Pale bluish white, speckled with pale purple and red-brown : 

 long. diam. nine lines ; trans, diam. six lines and a half. 



Common throughout the country. Song commenced in March or 

 April, and continued during the greater part of the Summer. Nest 



