THE BULLFINCH. 



lioxia pyrrhula, Linnaeus ; Le Bouvreuil, Buffon ; Der Gimpel, Bechptein 



This is one of the indigenous tame birds which is a favourite 

 with the rich and noble. Its body is thick and short. Its 

 whole length is six inches and three quarters, of which the tail 

 measures two and three quarters ; the beak is only six lines in 

 length, short, thick, and black ; the iris is chestnut-coloured ; 

 the shanks eight lines high, and black ; the top of the head, the 

 circle of the beak, the chin, and beginnuig of the throat, are of 

 a beautiful velvet black ; the upper part of the neck, the back, 

 and shoulders, deep grey ; the rump white ; the under part of 

 the neck, the wide breast, and to the centre of the bell}^ are of 

 a fine vermilion, less bright, however, in the young than old ; 

 the blackish pen-feathers become darker towards the body ; the 

 secondaries have the outer edge of an iron blue, which in the 

 hinder ones is reddish. The tail is rather forked, and of a 

 brilliant black, tinged with iron blue. 



The female is easily disting-uished from the male, for what 

 is red on him is reddish grey on her, while her back is of a 

 brownish grey, and her feet are not so black ; she is also 

 smaller. 



This species has some singular varieties ; the principal are : — 



1. The White Bullfinch^ which is of an ashy white, or wholly 

 white, with dark spots on the back. 



2. The Black Bullfinch. These are most generally females, 

 which become black, either with age, when they are only fed 

 on hemp seed, or with having been kept when young in a 

 totally dark place. Some resume at their moulting their 

 natural colours ; others remain black ; but this black is not 

 the same in all ; some are of a brUliant raven black, others 



