130 BIRD GALLERY. 



by marked differences in the shape of the bill. To the former belong 

 the Hawfinch [Coccothraustes) (2404) and Greenfinch {Chloris) (2412)^ 

 both well-known British species, as well as a large number of thick- 

 billed forms, such as the brilliantly coloured Crested Cardinals 

 (Cardinalis) (2417), chiefly found in America. 



Of the Fringillince many are included in the British List. Those that 

 breed are the Chaffinch (2419), Goldfinch (2422), Siskin (2426), 

 Linnet (2433), Lesser Redpoll (2434), Twite (2431), House-Sparrow 

 (2439), Tree-Sparrow (2439), Crossbill (2464), and Bullfinch (2481) ; 

 the Brambling (2420) and Mealy Redpoll (2432) are winter-visitors; 

 while the Serin Finch (2457), Citril (2457 a), Snow-Finch (2457 b), 

 Parrot Crossbill (2453), Two-banded Crossbill (2459), Rose-Finch 

 (2459), and Pine-Grosbeak (2509) are accidental visitors. The Crossbill 

 is an instance of peculiar modification, the mandibles crossing each 

 other in front, and enabling the bird not only to open fir-cones, on 

 the seeds of which it principally feeds, but to use its bill for climbing 

 like a Parrot. Other notable forms are the Saffron-Finches (Sycalis) 

 (2447j of South America, frequently kept as cage-birds, but generally too 

 pugnacious to live with other species ; the handsome Rhynchostruthus 

 socotranus (2434 a), peculiar to the island of Sokotra; and the brilliant 

 scarlet Sepoy-Finch {Carpodacus sipahi) (2449) from the Himalaya. 



The Buntings {Emberizin(e) are also well represented in the British 

 List, the breeding-species being the Common or Corn- (2497), Yellow 

 (2471), Cirl (2470), Reed- (2493), and Snow- (2473) Buntings, while 

 the Black-headed (2462), Ortolan (2495), Yellow-breasted (2456), 

 Siberian Meadow- (2475), Meadow- (2475 a). Rustic (2479), Little 

 (2477), Large-billed Reed- (2493 a), and Lapland (2474) Buntings are 

 accidental visitors. A large number of American genera are also 

 included in this group; some, such as Cyanospiza (2492-4) and 

 Paroaria (2509), containing brightly coloured species. 



Family XXXIIL CtEREBiDiE. American Creepers. 



[Case 80.] The American Creepers or Quit-Quits are a nine-primaried family, 

 allied to the Tanagers, but in their habits and other points they resemble 

 the Tits (Paridce) and Creepers {Certhiida) of the Old World. The bill 

 is usually slender, sometimes conical or strongly hooked at the tip as 

 in Diglossa (2519-9), and the extensile tongue is forked and fringed at 

 the extremity. They belong exclusively to the tropical forest-clad parts 

 of the New World, ranging from Southern Florida to Bolivia and 

 South-east Brazil. Like the Tanagers, their plumage is a combination 

 of the brightest colours, and hence some species, such as the Blue Creeper 

 {Cyanerpes cyanea) (2529), have become an article of trade for the orna- 

 mentation of women's hats. The Banana-Quit [Ccereba flaveola) (2529) 



