586 FRINGILLID^E. 



surface of red colour like that on the head and neck ; the 

 wing-coverts and quill-feathers greyish black ; both sets of 

 wing-coverts with broad outer edges, and the tips white, 

 but tinged with red; all the quill-feathers with narrow 

 outer edging of white, tinged with red on the proximal half 

 of the first six of the primaries ; tail-feathers uniform 

 greyish black ; the tail in form slightly forked. The chin, 

 throat, breast, and sides, vermilion red ; but the feathers, 

 if raised, are found to be like those on the upper surface of 

 the bird, grey at the base ; the belly, vent, and under tail- 

 coverts, French grey, the latter edged with white ; under 

 surface of wings and tail slate grey ; legs and toes blackish 

 brown ; the claws black. 



The whole length of the bird eight inches. From the 

 carpal joint to the end of the wing four inches and a half: 

 the third quill-feather of the wing the longest ; the second 

 very little shorter than the third ; the first feather a little 

 shorter than the fourth, and both shorter than the second ; 

 the fifth one-quarter of an inch shorter than the fourth. 



This bird is considered to be a young male after his first 

 autumnal moult, and this plumage is retained till the 

 second year, when, according to authors, all the red parts 

 become more or less tinged with yellowish orange. 



The adult female killed at Harrow has the beak orange 

 brown ; the irides hazel ; the head, ear-coverts, and back 

 of the neck, honey-yellow ; back and scapulars slate grey ; 

 rump and upper tail-coverts honey-yellow, like the colour of 

 the head ; both sets of wing-coverts, and all the quill-fea- 

 thers, greyish black, edged and tipped with white, without 

 any of the red tinge observed on the white of young males ; 

 tail above uniform greyish black ; all the under surface of 

 this bird, from the chin to the under tail-coverts, uniform 

 ash-grey ; legs, toes, and claws, dark brown. 



