BULLFINCH. 579 



also frequent in the southern parts of Scotland : but it is 

 not found in the northern Scottish islands of Orkney or 

 Shetland. It inhabits Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and 

 Russia ; is particularly common in the forests of Germany, 

 and from thence to the shores of the Mediterranean, and 

 is seen at Corfu, in Sicily, and in Malta. To the east- 

 ward in this parallel it is found as far as the countries 

 spread between the Black and the Caspian Seas. M. 

 Thunberg long ago said that the European Bullfinch was 

 an inhabitant of Japan ; and M. Temminck includes it in 

 his recent Catalogue of the Birds of Europe found in that 

 country. 



In the adult male the beak is of a shining black ; the 

 irides dark brown ; the whole of the top of the head jet 

 black ; nape of the neck, back, and lesser wing-coverts, deli- 

 cate bluish grey ; the greater wing-coverts black, the ends 

 white, forming a conspicuous bar across the wing; the 

 rump above white ; upper tail-coverts black ; all the quill 

 and tail-feathers also black, tinged with blue, but the pri- 

 mary wing-feathers not so dark as the tertials. The chin 

 black ; ear-coverts, sides of the neck, throat, breast, and 

 belly, tile-red ; vent and under tail-coverts white ; under 

 surface of the wings slate grey ; under surface of the tail- 

 feathers greyish black ; legs, toes, and claws, purple brown. 



The whole length of the bird rather more than six 

 inches. From the carpal joint to the end of the wing 

 three inches and one-eighth : the second, third, and fourth 

 primaries, nearly equal in length, and the longest in the 

 wing ; the first and fifth feathers are also equal in length, 

 but each about one-eighth shorter than the second, third, 

 or fourth. 



The female has the grey colour of the back more mixed 



with brown ; the under surface of the body, where the 



p?2 



