546 F R I N G 



the arctic circle, and probably beyond it, to the shores 

 of the Gulf of Mexico, spreading over the whole 

 breadth of the United States, from the Atlantic ocean 

 to Louisiana ; how much farther westward I am un- 

 able to say. About the 20th of October they make 

 their first appearance in those parts of Pennsylvania 

 east of the Alleghany mountains. At first they are 

 most generally seen on the borders of woods, among 

 the falling and decayed leaves, in loose flocks of thirty 

 or forty together, always taking to the trees when 

 disturbed. As the weather sets in colder, they ap- 

 proach nearer the farm-house and villages ; and on 

 the appearance of what is usually called falling wea- 

 ther, assemble in larger flocks, and seem doubly dili- 

 gent in searching for food. This increased activity 

 is generally a sure prognostic of a storm. When deep 

 snows cover the ground they become almost half 

 domesticated. They collect about the barn, stable, 

 and other out-houses, spread over the yard, and even 

 round the steps of the door, not only in the country 

 and villages, but in the heart of our large cities, 

 crowding around the threshold early in the morning, 

 gleaning up the crumbs, appearing very lively and 

 familiar. They have also recourse at this severe sea- 

 son, when the face of the earth is shut up from them, 

 to the seeds of many kinds of weed that still rise 

 above the snow, in corners of fields, and low shel- 

 tered situations, along the borders of creeks and 

 fences, where they associate with several species of 

 Bparrows. They are at this time easily caught with 

 almost any kind of trap ; are generally fat, and, it is 

 said, excellent eating. 



" I cannot but consider this bird as the most 

 numerous of its tribe of any within the United States. 

 From the northern parts of the district of Maine, to 

 the Ogeechee river in Georgia, a distance, by the 

 circuitous route in which I travelled, of more than 

 1800 miles, I never passed a day, and scarcely a 

 mile, without seeing numbers of these birds, and 

 frequently large flocks of many thousands. Other 

 travellers with whom I conversed, who had come 

 from Lexington, in Kentucky, through Virginia, also 

 declared that they found those birds numerous along 

 the whole road. It should be observed, that the 

 road sides are their favourite haunts, where many 

 rank weeds that grow along the fences furnish them 

 with food, and the road with gravel. In the vicinity 

 of places where they were most numerous, I observed 

 the American kestrel (Tinnunculus sparverius), and 

 several others of his tribe, watching their opportunity, 

 or hovering cautiously around, making an occasional 

 sweep among them, and retiring to the bare branches 

 of some old cypress, to feed on their victim. In the 

 month of April, when the weather begins to be warm, 

 they are observed to retreat to the woods, and to 

 prefer the shaded sides of hills and thickets ; at which 

 time the males warble out a few very low sweet 

 notes, and are almost perpetually pursuing and fight- 

 ing with each other. About the 20th of April, they 

 take their leave of our humble regions, and retire to 

 the north, and to the ranges of the Alleghany, to 

 build their nests, and rear their young. In some of 

 these ranges, in the interior of Virginia, and north- 

 ward about the west branches of the Susquehanna, 

 they breed in great numbers. The nest is fixed on 

 the ground, or among the grass, sometimes several 

 being within a small distance of each other. Accord- 

 ing to the observations of the gentlemen connected 

 with the Hudson's Bay factory, they arrive there 



I L L I D JE. 



about the beginning of June, stay a week or two, and 

 proceed farther north to breed. They return to that 

 settlement in the autumn, on their way to the south." 



The above very interesting account supplies us with 

 a tolerably precise and definite knowledge of the snow- 

 finches, as a group, and what little we have been able 

 to collect concerning the European species accords 

 exactly with it. They are inhabitants of colder 

 situations, and live more upon the ground than the 

 true chaffinch, and do not, like them, nidificate in 

 trees and bushes ; they serve to connect the chaf- 

 finches with some of the genera allied to the sparrows, 

 between which and them there is a gradual concate- 

 nation of intermediate forms, from the consideration 

 of which we might proceed, by an unbroken series, to 

 the buntings and snowflakes, and thence to many 

 other Fringillidcs. The members of this family are 

 indeed so numerous, that it would be a hopeless 

 endeavour to describe them all, and they are so 

 generally similar in their economy, differing only in 

 minor characters, which are important only in furnish- 

 ing means by which they may be naturally arranged, 

 that the describing many more of the species would 

 become a very tedious repetition, if it has not been so 

 in some degree already. An account of the sparrow 

 races will be found in the article entitled PASSEB, 

 and the bunting tribes are described under EMBERIZA. 



There are, however, a great many tropical species, 

 many of which are adorned with gaudy plumage, and 

 which are imported in considerable numbers into this 

 country ; and, though we are altogether strangers to 

 the habits of most of them in a state of nature, it may 

 be as well, before we conclude the article FRINGIL- 

 LIDJE, just to mention a few of the more conspicuous 

 of them, at least of those which are commonly 

 exposed for sale at the London bird shops. 



The Whidahbirds,(genus Videra of some naturalists) 

 are an African group, the males of which are remark- 

 able for an astonishing development of plumage in 

 the breeding season. In winter they resemble the 

 other sex, and are not very unlike a common linnet ; 

 but they moult their plumage twice in the year, and 

 the following is a description of the adult male of the 

 commonest species, V. paradisea, in his summer garb. 



Whidah Finch. 



The bill (which is intermediate in character between 

 those of the finches and buntings) is of a lead colour ; 

 irides chestnut ; the head, chin, front of the neck, back, 

 wings, and tail, glossy black ; back of the neck pale 

 orange ; breast, thighs, and upper part of the belly 

 white, the lowerpart black ; the two middle tail-feathers 



