282 Mr. W. Thompson on the Bh'ds of Ireland. 



larly and beautifully marked : it is thus described in my 

 notes : — " This bird is of the full adult size of the chaffinch 

 in every measurement. The prevailing colour of its plumage 

 is pure white, but the head is tinted with yellow ; the entire 

 back is of the richest canary-yellow ; wing- and tail-coverts 

 are likewise delicately tinted with canary-yellow. A few 

 blackish-gray and cinnamon-brown feathers appear as fol- 

 lows : one or two on the head, some on the back, and some 

 very few on the wings and tail, but altogether they are in- 

 conspicuous ; these are the ordinary chaffinch feathers. The 

 primaries and the long tail-feathers, together with their 

 shafts, are pure white. The plumage altogether partakes as 

 much of that of the canary as of the chaffinch." 



The description of this species and its propensities, as ob- 

 served by the author of the ' Journal of a Naturalist,^ is ad- 

 mirable. 



The Mountain Finch, Fringilla montif ring ilia, Linn., 

 Is a species, which, from personal observation, and notes col- 

 lected from various quarters, I could not have announced as 

 a regular winter visitant to Ireland. The Rev. G. M. Black, 

 however, informs me, that for several winters successively 

 he has remarked a few at least of these birds on the 

 mountains about Newtown-Crommelin, but in mid-winter 

 only ; they were occasionally in company with chaffinches. 

 Almost every winter for many years past I have been 

 aware of their occurrence in the north in very limited num- 

 bers, and have learned from correspondents in all quarters of 

 the island that they are everywhere of occasional, but ge- 

 nerally unfrequent occurrence, and have been met with in 

 the most southern parts. On the 1 8th of October I once re- 

 ceived a mountain finch which was shot in the neighbour- 

 hood of Belfast, and in November the species has been seen 

 here associating with green-linnets and chaffinches, when 

 for some time before and after the weather had been mild. Such 

 birds had evidently come hither in the ordinary course of mi- 

 gration ; but that others have been compelled to visit this island 

 by severity of weather, I in one instance had interesting 

 circumstantial evidence. This was a day or two before the 

 very great snow-storm in the beginning of January 1827, 

 when one of these birds, which was secured and sent to me, 

 alighted on the Chieftain steam-packet when on the passage 

 from Liverpool to Belfast. This had most probably been 

 the forerunner of the many which, during the deep snow 

 immediately following, were seen about the last-named 

 place. The snow-storm as usual had commenced earlier in 



