THE MOUNTAIN LINNET. 



257 



but his eyes were dim and heavy. He was carried back to the win- 

 dow where his cage hung, and the next morning was found dead : 

 this affectionate bird, to all appearance, having died of a broken 

 heart. 



MOUNTAIN LINNET. 



THE MOUNTAIN LINNET (Linaria flavirostris). Yellow- 

 bellied Linnet sometimes called the Twite ; in Scotland 

 the Heather Lintie. This bird is inferior in size to the 

 common Brown Linnet, being not quite five inches and 

 three-quarters long. Its plumage is, in the upper parts, of a 

 light yellowish brown, with streaks of dark brown ; there 

 is a red tinge on the rump, and the under parts are light 

 brownish yellow, of which tint there are two bars across 

 the wing. Like the Brown Linnet, which it resembles in 

 its habits, this species is extensively distributed through 

 Great Britain, in the southern districts of which it is, how- 

 ever, comparatively rare. As its name implies, it prefers 

 the hilly districts. Stafford and Derbyshire are perhaps 

 the southern limits of its breeding-places in this country. 

 Thomson says it is not uncommon in Ireland ; and Mac- 

 gillivray describes it as ' plentiful in the Hebrides, in winter, 

 frequenting the corn-stacks in large flocks, clinging to the 

 stacks of oats, and picking out the seeds. Its flight is rapid 

 and undulated, and it wheels over the fields previous to 

 alighting, uttering a soft twitter at intervals. When dis- 





