PASSERINJE. FRINGILLA. 195 



rounded, the edges inflected ; gape-line straight. Mouth 

 rather narrow, both mandibles deeply concave ; tongue sagit- 

 tate, subulato-lanceolate, involute so as to be nearly tubular, 

 the tip terminated by a pencil of short bristles ; oesophagus 

 dilated into a large crop ; proventriculus bulbiform ; gizzard 

 roundish, compressed, with very strong lateral muscles and 

 radiated tendons ; its cuticular lining dense, and longitudi- 

 nally rugous ; intestine of moderate length, rather wide ; 

 cceca very small, cylindrical. Nostrils nearly circular, basal, 

 concealed by the reflected feathers. Eyes of moderate size. 

 Head oblong, moderate ; neck short ; body compact. Legs 

 short ; tarsus compressed, with seven anterior scutella ; toes 

 slender, compressed ; claws rather long, slender, arcuate, 

 compressed, laterally grooved, acute. Plumage soft and 

 blended ; wings broad, with the outer four quills nearly equal, 

 but the second and third longest ; tail rather long or mode- 

 rate, emarginate. 



120. FRINGILLA CCELEBS. CHAFFINCH. 



Male with the upper part of the head and the hind neck 

 greyish-blue ; a black band on the forehead ; the back reddish- 

 brown, the rump yellowish-green ; the fore neck and breast 

 purplish-red. Female with the upper part of the head and the 

 back light greyish-brown, the rump yellowish-green, the breast 

 pale yellowish-grey. Young similar to the female, but with 

 the tints paler. Few birds exhibit the effects of the wearing 

 of the feathers in a more remarkable manner than the male 

 Chaffinch, which in the breeding season has the black of the 

 forehead, and the greyish-blue of the head, unmixed, the red 

 of the back brighter, and the breast of a much lighter tint. 

 The bill, which in winter is pale reddish-brown, also becomes 

 of a fine leaden blue. 



Male, 6J, llj, 3|, &, |, &, A- Female, 6|, 10. 



This species is of very common occurrence in all the wooded 

 and cultivated parts of the country. Toward the end of au- 

 tumn it forms flocks, which betake themselves to the neigh- 

 bourhood of houses, searching for food by the hedges, in gar- 

 dens, farm-yards, and fields, and associating with Greenfinches, 

 Yellow Buntings, Sparrows, and Linnets. In winter it feeds 

 chiefly on seeds, but in summer on insects and larvae. It has 

 a rapid and undulated flight, alights abruptly, walks by short 

 leaps, and is among the most familiar of our birds. Its song 



