52 ALLEN'S NATURALIST'S LIBRARY. 



and England, and in the other portions of the country it is de- 

 cidedly local. In Ireland this is especially the case ; it is not 

 uncommon near Dublin, and has more recently been recorded 

 from North Aran Island, co. Donegal. 



Range outside the British Islands. In most parts of Europe, 

 the Tree-Sparrow is a local species, as in Great Britain, but is 

 extending its range northward in the western countries, having 

 reached the Faeroes and settled there within the last twenty- 

 five years, and it has now extended its range in Scandinavia 

 beyond the Arctic Circle. In many other parts of Europe it 

 is more abundant than the House-Sparrow, and its home 

 extends throughout temperate and tropical Asia, along the line 

 of the Himalayas to the Burmese countries and the Malayan 

 Peninsula to Java, while to the northward the Tree-Sparrow is 

 found throughout China to Manchuria and Japan. 



Habits. A more elegant and lively bird than the House- 

 Sparrow, the present species has also a clearer and more musical 

 note. It is also an inhabitant of the open country, avoiding 

 the towns, where its congener is so much at home, though it 

 occasionally builds its nests in barns and outhouses. A favourite 

 nesting-place in this country is in the holes of pollard willows, 

 and it will even build in holes of walls or in wells. 



Uest. Composed of straw, grasses, and rootlets, but not 

 so rough or clumsy in construction as that of the Common 

 Sparrow. The lining consists of wool, feathers, and sometimes 

 a little hair, according to Mr. Seebohm. 



Eggs. Three to five in number, smaller than those of the 

 House-Sparrow, but varying in markings and colour, as is the 

 case with that species : as a rule, however, the tendency of the 

 Tree-Sparrow's eggs is towards a darker colour than the House- 

 Sparrow's, and the majority of a series of clutches are more 

 uniform. Axis, 07-0-8 ; diam., 0-55-0-3. 



THE CANARIES. GENUS SERINUS. 



Serinus, Koch, Syst. Baier, Zool., p. 228 (1816). 



Type, *$". serinus (Linn.). 



The members of this genus recall the Siskins in their mode 

 of coloration, having a considerable amount of yellow and 



