THE REDBILL 105 



together, but one after another, the rest keeping quite silent to listen to the 

 songster. Their song resembles that of the hay bird, and continues through 

 the winter. The females do not sing ; those are wrong who think the con- 

 trary. They are very active, often bowing and spreading their tail like a 

 fan. In their native country their food consists of different seeds, par- 

 ticularly millet ; this is also given it in the cage, as well as canary seed. 

 They eat and drink a great deal. They will live from six to ten years. 



THE PARADISE GROSBEAK. 



Loxia erythrocephala, LINNAEUS ; Le Cardinal d'Angola, BUFFON ; Der Paridiese- 

 Kernbeisser, BECHSTEIN. 



THIS species is about six inches long ; the beak and feet are 

 flesh-coloured, the head and chin red ; the upper part of the 

 neck, the back, rump, and wing-coverts, bluish grey ; the upper 

 tail-coverts are edged with grey ; the under part of the body 

 white, with dark brown spots on the sides ; the whig-coverts 

 white at the tip, which forms two transverse streaks on the 

 wings; the pen and tail-feathers are of a dark grey, with 

 lighter tips. The female does not differ from the male. 



OBSERVATIONS. The male sings through the whole year, hut its voice is 

 so weak that the least noise overpowers it. In England this species has 

 been made to breed in an aviary. Its food is millet and rape seed, and 

 sometimes a little hemp seed. 



THE REDBILL. 



Loxi.i sanguinirostris, LINN^US ; Le Becsanguin, BUFFON ; Der Rothschabliger 

 Kernbeisser, BKCHSTEIN. 



THIS pretty little bird is three inches and a half long, of 

 which the tail measures one inch, and the beak four lines. 

 The feet are nine lines in height, the middle claw measures five 

 lines and the side ones four. The beak is strong, rather naked 

 at the forehead, and of a dark blood red ; the feet are of a very 

 red colour, the claws black ; the eyelids red, and irides orange : 

 the circle of the beak, including the forehead, eyes, and chin, 

 is black ; the top of the head rust-colour, more or less approach- 

 ing to red. scattered with blackish spots, formed by the black 

 of the feathers ; the under part of the body of a brownish red, 

 clouded with white, and lighter on the sides and the lower part 



