110 



BRITISH BIRDS. 



general colour of the upper parts much duller, with the streaks on the 

 upper and underparts more pronounced. Young males in first plumage 

 resemble the adult female. After the autumn moult, the male has pale 

 margins to all the feathers, which almost conceal the crimson of the head 

 and breast ; but these margins drop off as the season advances, and the 

 red on the head and breast and the chestnut on the back seem to intensify. 

 In captivity the males gradually lose the crimson on the crown and breast, 

 which changes without a moult into ochre-yellow ; and after the first moult 

 they assume the plumage of the female, which they retain ever afterwards. 

 Birds in which the crimson is replaced by ochre-yellow are occasionally 

 caught wild, and are probably males deficient in vigour. 



In addition to the Eastern form of this species already alluded to, the 

 Common Linnet has several near allies ; but the only British species with 

 which it is at all likely to be confused are the Twite and Redpole. Both 

 may always be distinguished by their yellowish bills and the absence of 

 the broad white margins to the inner webs of the tail-feathers ; and the 

 Redpole, which is less closely allied to the Common Linnet than is the 

 Twite, possesses the additional characters of a dark brown chin-spot and a 

 double wing-bar. 



