Finches. J 



MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 



335 



the discoveries of the travellers sent some time since 

 by the King of Prussia into that country with a view 

 of obtaining specimens oi natural history. 



The male is ornamented round the base of the bill 

 with a circle of rich red, going off in spots upon the 

 cheeks. The front is covered with small silvery 

 white feathers, slightly edged with red ; the rump 

 and all the lower parts fine rose-colour; upper parts 

 ash-colom-ed, lightly tinged with rose ; wings and 

 tail brown. 



The female is of a light brown colour above, each 

 feather having a deeper-coloured centre. The lower 

 parts pale tawny brown, with streaks of a darker 

 tint. Length, about five inches and a half. 



Of the manners and habits of this species we have 

 no detailed account. 



1-198.— The Thick-billed Bullfinch 



{Pyrrhula Gigathinca). This species is a native 

 of Egypt and Nubia, and most probably other parts 

 of N orthern Africa. It is characterised by a very 

 thick bill, and a slightly notched tail. The colours 

 of the sexes do not vary greatly. In the male a 

 greyish colour tinted with bright rose covers all the 

 lower parts of the body, the throat and the circle 

 round the bill ; this tint is palest on the throat. The 

 crown of the head is pure ash-colour, and an ashy 

 brown is spread over the nape, the back, and the 

 wing coverts. A faint rose-colour tinges the 

 plumage of the rump and the edges of the quills and 

 tail-feathers, all of which are bordered towards the 

 end with whitish upon a black ground. The two 

 middle quills are the shortest. The wings reach to 

 the extremity of the tail-feathers ; and the bill is of 

 a fine red. Length, four inches six lines. 



The female has no rosy tint except on the edges 

 of the quills and tail-feathers, and on the rump, 

 where it is very faint. The upper parts are of an 

 Isabella brown, and the wings edged with a brighter 

 tint of the same. The circle round the bill and the 

 throat are ash-coloured ; the lower parts of a pure 

 Isabella-colour; and the middle of the belly white. 

 Bill same as in the male. 



1499. — The Blue Bullfinch 

 (^Pyrrhtda cinered). This species is one of the Ame- 

 rican i-epresentatives of the present form, and is a 

 native of Brazil, where it is not; uncommon. The 

 head, cheeks, back, and scapulars are ashy-bluish ; 

 wings and tail darker, but all the feathers of those 

 parts are bordered with ash-colour. There is a small 

 white spot on the wing, formed by the white towards 

 the base of the quills, beginning with the fourth ; 

 the three first have no white. All the lower parts 

 are white with the exception of the flanks, which 

 are clouded with ash-colour. Bill coral-red, very 

 strong, large, and as it were swollen (bombe). Feet 

 ash-coloured. Length four inches and a half. 



1500 (a). — The Paradise Whidah-Bird 



( Vidua Paradtsea, Cuv.). These birds, also termed 

 Widow-birds, les Veuves of the French, constitute a 

 small but interesting group of the finches, remark- 

 able for the development of long caudal plumes in 

 the males, characteristic of the breeding season, 

 and subsequently lost. With respect to the name 

 Widow(Veuve, Vidua), the author of the 'Gardens and 

 Menagerie Delineated ' informs us that " Edwards, 

 the first modern writer by whom this interesting 

 bird (the present species) was figured and described, 

 having happened to say that the Portuguese called 

 it the Widow from its colour and long train ; Brisson 

 took the hint, and gave it the name of Veuve in 

 French, Vidua in Latin. The French naturalist 

 had, however, overlooked the fact that Edwards had 

 himself corrected the mistake, for such it was, in the 

 following terms : — ' In my description of this bird I 

 have said that it is called the Widow by the Portu- 

 guese ; but I am since betterinformed that it is called 

 the Whidah-bird, because it is brought frequently to 

 Lisbon from the kingdom of Whidah, on the coast 

 of Africa.' The name thus accidentally given has 

 now, however, been universally adopted both in 

 popular and scientific language." 



The present species is a native of Western Africa, 

 from Senegal to Angola, and in all its habits is a 

 true finch. " In captivity, which these birds endure 

 without much appearance of constraint, they are 

 lively and active, jumping from perch to perch, and 

 alternately raising and depressing their long tails 

 with great vivacity. They are usually fed upon 

 grain, with the occasional addition of green herbs, 

 and are fond of bathing in the water which is placed 

 in their cage. Twice a year they are subject to 

 changes of plumage, which alter the appearance of 

 the male especially, to such an extent that it would 

 be difficult to recognise in him the same bird. The 

 long feathers which are his peculiar attribute fall 

 off towards the end of autumn, and, with the other 

 changes that take place in its plumage, leave him 

 little to distinguish him during the winter months 

 from his plainer mate. But in spring he recovers 

 his long feathers, his more brilliant hues, and his 



sharp but agreeable and varied note ; the change 

 being usually completed by the beginning of June. 

 It is said they live for twelve or fifteen years." The 

 colour of the male in full plumage is of a bright 

 black, with the exception of an orange rufous band 

 round the neck, spreading over the chest, and gra- 

 dually fading into dull white on the under parts. 

 The tail is, as usual, composed of twelve feathers, of 

 which the four middle are elongated and vertical ; 

 two being flowing and pendent, and two (the middle) 

 broad, with a shaft projecting like a slender fila- 

 ment beyond the end. Size, that of a sparrow. 

 After the autumnal moult the colours are rusty 

 brown and white. 



1500 (6). — The Red-billed Wiiid.4.h-Bird 



(Vidua erythrorhyr.cha). This species inhabits the 

 same regions as the preceding, but is of less size. 

 Of the four middle and greatly elongated tail-feathers 

 two are convex, and two (one within the other) con- 

 cave, so that when all four are closed they form a sort 

 of cylinder, and but for their extremities appear at 

 first sight as one. 



The general colour of the male in full plumage is 

 glossy blue-black, with a white collar and white wing- 

 coverts and scapularies, of which hue are also the 

 lower part of the back, the throat, the chest, and 

 under parts. In habits it agrees with the other 

 species. 



1501. — The Java Spakrow 



(Fringilla onjzivura). Rice-bird; Paddy-bird. 

 Boorong Peepee of the Sumatrans ; Glate of the 

 Javanese. 



This bird is well known, being so frequently 

 brought over to this country from India and kept in 

 aviaries and cages lor the sake of its elegant figure 

 and pleasing colours. In its native regions it is 

 notorious for the ravages which it commits in the 

 rice-fields, on which flocks descend, clearing the 

 pannicles of the ripe grains, and leaving nothing 

 but the empty husks. (See Fig. 1502 : a, a pan- 

 nicle of the rice-plant with ripe grains ; b, a single 

 grain envelop,ed in its husk, and awned.) 



The colour of the Java sparrow is a delicate leaden 

 grey, with a sort of bloom over the whole plumage, 

 like that visible on plums; the bill is red; the head 

 and tail black, the under parts with a slight roseate 

 tinge ; in the male the cheeks are snowy white ; legs 

 flesh-coloured: the size of the beak is remarkable. 



1503. — ^The Greenfinch 



(Coccothraustes chloris). Nest of. Our pictorial 

 specimen of the nest of this common bird, which 

 is spread over the greater part of Europe, is repre- 

 sented as shrouded by the foliage of the holly. It 

 consists externally of a rough basket-work of roots 

 interwoven with moss loosely put together, but in- 

 creasing in compactness as the structure advances : 

 and when a layer of finer roots has been worked as 

 a middle wall, a thick compact texture of hair is 

 added as a lining. The eggs are four or five in 

 number, of a bluish white, speckled at the larger 

 end with light orange-brown. 



1504. — The Hawfinch 



(Coccothraustes vulgaris). In the genus Cocco- 

 thraustes the bill is very stout at the base, whence 

 it tapers rapidly to a point, the lower mandible 

 being nearly as thick as the upper ; the wings are 

 long, the tail short, the tarsi short. The present 

 species is the Haw Grosbeak and Grosbeak of the 

 modern British ; GylfinbrafF of the ancient British ; 

 le Grosbek and Pinson Royal of the French ; 

 Frogione, Froccione, Frosone, Frisone, Friggione, of 

 the Italians ; Kernbeisser, Kirsch Kernbeisser, 

 Kerschfink, Nusbeisser of the Germans ; Appel- 

 vink of the Netherlanders ; Loxia Coccothraustes of 

 Linnseus ; Fringilla Coccothraustes of Temminck ; 

 Coccothraustes vulgaris of Brisson. 



The Hawfinch is plentiful in some districts of ii 

 France ; permanent and not uncommon in Italy ; 

 common in Germany, Sweden, and part of Russia. 

 In Mr. Selby's ' Illustrations,' and indeed in most 

 other English works, the hawfinch is noticed as an 

 occasional visitant. Dr. Latham says that " the haw- 

 finch visits us chiefly in winter, but one was shot in 

 the summer months [near Dartford in Kent." He 

 goes on to remark that White records another in- 

 stance at the same season, and says that it had the 

 kernels of damsons in its stomach. " These," con- 

 tinues Dr. Latham, " might possibly have bred here, 

 though we have no authority for its ever being the 

 case." This authority now exists in the observa- 

 tions of Mr. Doubleday. "The hawfinch," says 

 Mr. Doubleday, " is not migratory, but remains with 

 us during the whole of the year." This observer 

 sufficiently accounts for the rarity of its appearance 

 — " Its shy and retiring habits leading it to choose 

 the most secluded places of the thickest and more 

 remote parts of woods, and when disturbed it inva- 

 riably perches on the tallest tree of the neighbour- 

 hood." 



Hard seeds and kernels form the principal food 

 of the hawfinch, but it feeds also on the berries of 

 the hawthorn (whence its name) ; so that it is pro- 

 bable that the soft part of fruits is not disagreeable 

 to it, although the bill is evidently formed for crack- 

 ing the stony kernel. Willughby states that it 

 breaks the stones of cherries and even of olives 

 with expedition. The stomach of one which he 

 dissected in the month ot December was full of 

 the stones of holly-berries. The majority of orni- 

 thologists give the hawfinch credit for forming a 

 nest beautifully constructed of lichens and vegetable 

 fibres, with a lining of feathers and other soft mate- 

 rials. But according to Mr. Doubleday, who has 

 thrown much light on the history of this bird, and 

 discovered it breeding in Epping Forest in May 

 and June, the nest, which is made in some instances 

 in bushy trees at the height of five or six feet, and 

 in others near the top of firs at an elevation of 

 twenty or thirty feet, is remarkably shallow and 

 carelessly put together, being scarcely deeper than 

 that of the dove. In materials it resembles that of 

 the bullfinch, but is not to be compared with it in 

 neatness and compactness of construction. Eggs, 

 from four to six in number, of a pale greenish white, 

 varying in intensity, spotted and streaked with 

 greenish grey and brown. Mr. Gould states that 

 he has known the bird to breed near Windsor, and 

 a few other places ; but certainly nowhere so abun- 

 dantly as on the estate of W. Wells, Esq., at Redleaf, 

 near Penshuist, Kent. This gentleman informed 

 Mr. Gould that he had, with the aid of a small tele- 

 scope, counted at one time eighteen on his lawn. 



Mr. Selby remarks that in the pairing season it 

 probably utters a superior song, as Montagu says 

 that even in winter, during mild weather, he has 

 heard it sing sweetly in low and plaintive notes. 



The colours of the plumage are as follows : — rump, 

 head and cheeks red-brown; edging round the bill, 

 space between that and the eye, a line beyond the 

 eye and throat, deep black ; a large ash-coloured 

 collar just below the nape ; back and greater part 

 of the wings deep brown, but there is an oblique 

 white stripe upon the wing, and bejond it a con- 

 siderable space of a light whitish colour going off 

 into chestnut ; secondary quills as if cut off square 

 at the ends, or, as Edwards says, with justice, like 

 the figures of some of the ancient battle-axes, 

 glossed with rich blue, less conspicuous in the fe- 

 male ; tail feathers white within, of a blackish brown 

 on the external barbs ; lower parts of the bird vinous 

 red ; iris pale red (according to Temminck) ; feet 

 and bill greyish brown. Length seven inches. 



The female resembles the male, but the colours,, 

 are much less brilliant. 



1505, 1506. — The Ceossbill 



{Loxia curvirostra). In the genus Loxia we find 

 the beak compressed and elongated, with the man-- 

 dibles bent in contrary directions, so that their points - 

 cross each other (see Head of Crossbill, Fig. 1507), 

 while the tongue is furnished at its top with a horny 

 scoop. The tarsi are short and the feet are formed 

 for grasping tightly, as tlie birds cling in various 

 positions to the twigs while procuring food. The 

 use of this singular bill will be easily deduced from 

 the following observations : — The seed of the cones 

 of the pine is the jji-incipal food of the crossbill, and 

 to obtain this the bird fixes itself across the cone,, 

 and then brings the point of each mandible toge- 

 ther; and in this position it is enabled to insert 

 them under the scales of the cone ; this done, the 

 beak is opened, not in the usual way, but by the 

 lower mandible being drawn sideways (a peculiar 

 arrangement of muscles effecting the action), and 

 the scale is consequently raised up, the tongue is at 

 the same time brought forward, and its scoop di- 

 rected beneath the seed, which is dislodged and 

 carried to the mouth. At Fig. 1508 is shown the 

 skull of the crossbill dissected, so as to illustrate its 

 structure, the arrangement of the muscles, and the 

 peculiarity of the tongue: — a. Skull of crossbill, 

 side view : a, temporal muscle ; b, great pyramidal 

 muscle. B, Head viewed from below : b, great 

 pyramidal muscle ; c, c, pterygoid muscles ; d, d, 

 graciles muscles, c, Head viewed from the side : 

 a, pterygoid process ; b, os omoideum ; c, os qua- 

 dratum ; d, d, os jugale. d, Head viewed from be- 

 hind: a, right temporal muscle; b, great pyramidal 

 muscle. E, Lower jaw, side view : a, cavity for 

 articulation ; b, b, coronoid processes, f. Tongue 

 seen from above : a, horny scoop ; b, b, extensor 

 muscles, c, Tongue, side view : a, horny scoop ; 

 h, extensor muscles ; c, flexor muscle. (Yarrell, 

 'Zool, Journ.,' vol. iv.). 



The common crossbill is the Becco incroce, Cro- 

 cione, and Crosiero of the Italians ; Bee crois6 of 

 the French ; Fichten Kreuzschnabel of the Ger- 

 mans; Kruisvink of the Netherlanders; Mindre 

 Korsnab of the Scandinavians ; and Gylfingroes of 

 the ancient British. This species certainly breeds 

 in the British Islands, and we may specify the Holt 

 Forest in Surrey, and various fir or larch plantations 



