600 



FRINGTLLIM. 



part of the breast, belly, and under tail-coverts, dull brown- 

 ish white ; legs, toes, and claws, very dark brown. 



The red colour on the rump is a sexual as well as a 

 seasonal assumption, peculiar to the male only in summer ; 

 but healthy well-fed males in confinement carry this red 

 colour over a longer period. 



The whole length of the bird is five inches and one 

 quarter ; but the body being slender, and the tail-feathers 

 lengthy, this bird has a more elongated appearance than the 

 Common Linnet, or the Mealy Redpole. From the carpal 

 joint to the end of the wing, three inches ; the first and 

 third quill-feathers equal in length ; the second longer than 

 either, and the longest in the wing ; the fourth feather one- 

 eighth of an inch shorter than the third. 



The female is without the red colour on the rump, and 

 is also lighter in colour on the back ; her beak, less de- 

 cidedly yellow at the base, is dusky brown at the tip. 



Young birds, like the females, are lighter in colour gene- 

 rally, and are thus distinguished from old males. 



