VII 



FRINGILLIDAE 583 



last-named are the considerable deflection of the posterior 

 portion of the angular gape and the bony knob often present on 

 the palate ; a gap, moreover, commonly occurs between the .edges 

 of the maxilla and the mandible. Extreme forms are thus easily 

 recognised, but it seems almost impossible to draw an exact line 

 of demarcation, even when the more Lark-like nest of Buntings 

 and their streaky eggs are taken into consideration. The Frin- 

 gillidae predominate in the Palaearctic Eegion, but are fairly 

 plentiful elsewhere, except in the Australian Eegion, whence few 

 are as yet recorded ; many forms, however, have very limited 

 ranges ; while some are peculiar to certain islands, as Geospiza, 

 Camarhynchus, and Cactornis to the Galapagos, Passer jagoensis to 

 the Cape Yerds, Chaunoproctus to the Bonin Islands and Telespiza 

 to the Laysan group, Nesospiza to Tristan da Cunha, Melopyrrlia 

 to Cuba, Rliynclwstrutlius and Passer insularis to Socotra. 



The bill is usually stout and cone-shaped, often with a notched 

 maxilla, occasionally with a ridged culmen ; it is enormous in 

 Geospiza, Camarhynchus, Chaunoproctus, and some other forms, and 

 highly developed in Coccothraustes, Pyrrliula, and elsewhere ; but 

 is at times either remarkably short, or longer and more slender, 

 as in Cactornis, Chrysomitris, and Carduelis. Frequently it is curved, 

 with overhanging tip, while a peculiar crossing of the mandibles 

 at their extremities marks the genus Loxia. An excessive summer 

 growth has been especially noticed in Redpolls, which is worn 

 down by hard food in winter. The beak is seldom abnormal in 

 Buntings. The metatarsus is moderate ; but in Calcarius, Plectro- 

 phenax, Nesospiza, and Chamaeospiza the hind claw is elongated, 

 as is the mid-claw in Phonipara. The wings, which have a minute 

 outer primary, vary from very long, as in Ifesperiphona, to short 

 as in Passer, and from pointed, as in Plectrophenax, to rounded as 

 in Ammodramus ; the secondaries are shaped like a bill-hook in 

 Coccothraustes, while the inner are much lengthened in Emberiza 

 fucata. The tail is fairly normal, but may be long or decidedly 

 short, square, round, graduated, or forked ; the rectrices are unusu- 

 ally acute in Spiza, Coryphospiza, and Eniberizo'ides. Many species 

 possess a crop. Bristles generally occur at the gape, and the 

 nostrils are concealed by feathers or by a membrane. 



The sexes may be similarly coloured or very different, the 

 hues being commonly sober, but sometimes particularly brilliant. 

 Cardinalis, Paroaria, Gubernatrix, Melophus, PyrrJiuloxia, Schis- 



