78 BIRDS. 



A very large family, the most extensive in Ornithology, 

 comprising about one hundred genera and five hundred 

 species, found in nearly every part of the world, except 

 Australia. They are especially abundant in North 

 America, where about one-eighth of all the birds are 

 Frinyillidue. " Any one United States locality of aver- 

 age attractiveness to birds, has a bird-fauna of over two 

 hundred species, and if it be away from the sea-coast, 

 and consequently uninhabited by marine birds, about 

 one-fourth of the species are SylmcolidcB and Fringil- 

 lidc/B together, the latter somewhat in excess of the 

 former. It is not easy, therefore, to give undue promi- 

 nence to these two families." (Coues.) 



All the Finches are granivorous, feeding chiefly on 

 seeds, but not rejecting either berries or insects; nearly 

 all sing, and some most delightfully; most of them are 

 plainly clad, a streaky brown being the prevailing tint, 

 but others are among the most brilliantly colored birds. 

 Among these latter only are the changes in plumage 

 strongly marked. 



The following key to the genera is aoout as artificial 

 as it well could be, but a more natural one would be less 

 easy of application. The characters here assigned are 

 seldom truly generic. 

 * Species of large size; length at least more than 7. 



f Tail longer than wings. 



a. Conspicuously crested, chiefly red or rosy-tinted ; bill very 



large, reddish. . . CARDINALIS, 23. 



aa. Not crested ; black or brown with chestnut on sides ; 



wings and tail with white , bill moderate, black, 



PIPILO, 24. 

 aaa. Not crested, head mostly black, no white on tail. 



ZONOTRICHIA, 13 

 ff Tail shorter than wings. 



b. Bill very large and stout. (" Grosbeaks.") 



