150 PASSERES. FRINGILLAD^}. 



strongly marked than that of the Starling. He 

 is easily tamed, and when in a ^tate of confine- 

 ment his good spirits do not fotfsake him, and he 

 appears to reconcile himself to his situation with 

 great philosophy."* 



FAMILY IV. FRINGILLAD^E. 



(Finches.) 



This Family, consisting of birds which may all 

 be considered small, is one of immense extent. 

 They are remarkable for the shortness, thickness, 

 and powerful structure of the beak ; the upper 

 and lower mandibles are for the most part equally 

 thick, their height and breadth are nearly alike, 

 so that when the beak is closed, it commonly 

 presents the appearance of a very short cone, di- 

 vided in the middle by the gape. In some ge- 

 nera, however, the conical form is less obvious, 

 by the bulging or swelling of its outline, both 

 vertically and laterally. In many of the Finches, 

 as the Hawfinch of our own country (Cocco- 

 thraustes\ the Java Sparrow (Amadina) so often 

 seen in cages, and others, the thickness of the 

 beak in proportion to its length, and in compa- 

 rison with the size of the head, is enormous, but 

 in a rare and extraordinary bird from West 

 Africa (Loxia ostrina, VIEILL.), the beak is but 

 little inferior in size to the whole head. 



The great strength thus communicated to the 

 beak, well adapts it for the functions it is or- 

 dained to perform, for the food of these birds 

 consists very largely of seeds, often inclosed in 



* Gleanings, 177. 



