606 FRINGILLID^l. 



Russia; is particularly common in the forests of Germany, 

 and from thence to the shores of the Mediterranean, and 

 is seen at Corfu, in Sicily, and in Malta. To the east- 

 ward in this parallel it is found as far as the countries 

 spread between the Black and the Caspian Seas. M. 

 Thunberg long ago said that the European Bullfinch was 

 an inhabitant of Japan ; and M. Temminck includes it in 

 his Catalogue of the Birds of Europe found in that country. 



In the adult male the beak is of a shining black ; the 

 irides dark brown ; the whole of the top of the head jet 

 black ; nape of the neck, back, and lesser wing-coverts, deli- 

 cate bluish grey ; the greater wing-coverts black, the ends 

 white, forming a conspicuous bar across the wing; the 

 rump above white ; upper tail-coverts black ; all the quill 

 and tail feathers also black, tinged with blue, but the 

 primary wing-feathers not so dark as the tertials. The 

 chin black ; ear-coverts, sides of the neck, throat, breast, 

 and belly, tile-red; vent and under tail-coverts white; 

 under surface of the wings slate grey ; under surface of 

 the tail-feathers greyish black ; legs, toes, and claws, purple 

 brown. 



The whole length of the bird is rather more than six 

 inches. From the carpal joint to the end of the wing, 

 three inches and one-eighth : the second, third, and fourth 

 primaries, nearly equal in length, and the longest in the 

 wing ; the first and fifth feathers are also equal in length, 

 but each about one-eighth shorter than the second, third, 

 or fourth. 



The female has the grey colour of the back more mixed 

 with brown ; the under surface of the body, where the 

 male is red, is in her of a brownish purple red ; the head, 

 wings, arid tail, not quite so pure a black. 



Young birds in their first feathers resemble the female, 

 but are without the black head. Some time after leaving 



