PASSERINE. LINOTA. 199 



line straight, the ridge broad and rounded, the sides convex, 

 the edges inflected ; gape-line nearly straight. Mouth nar- 

 row ; both mandibles deeply concave ; tongue sagittate, nar- 

 row, grooved above, the tip slightly bifid ; oesophagus dilated 

 into a crop ; proventriculus elliptical ; stomach roundish, com- 

 pressed, with very strong lateral muscles, and radiated ten- 

 dons, its cuticular lining dense and longitudinally rugous ; 

 intestine of moderate length, rather wide ; cceca very small, 

 cylindrical. Nostrils circular, basal, concealed by the re- 

 flected feathers. Eyes of moderate size. Ears large, ellip- 

 tical. Head oblong, rather large ; neck short ; body com- 

 pact. Legs short ; tarsus compressed, with seven scutella ; 

 toes slender, compressed, arched, laterally grooved, acute. 

 Plumage soft, blended ; wings rather long, broad, with seven- 

 teen quills, the outer three longest and about equal ; tail 

 rather short, emarginate. 



The Linnets are intimately allied to the genera Carduelis, 

 Fringilla, Chlorospiza, and Passer. They are small, lively, 

 and generally prettily, though not gaudily, coloured birds, of 

 which four are found in Britain. I have adopted the generic 

 name Linota, proposed by the Prince of Canino, in place of 

 Linaria, because the latter is used for a genus of plants. 



124. LINOTA CANNABINA. BROWN LINNET. 



Male in winter with the bill dusky above ; the throat yel- 

 lowish-grey, streaked with brown ; back and wing-coverts red- 

 dish-brown, streaked with darker ; forehead and breast with 

 the feathers dark red in their covered parts. Female with the 

 upper parts streaked with dusky brown and greenish-yellow, 

 the lower light yellowish-grey ; the throat, breast, and sides 

 streaked with yellowish-brown. Male in summer with the 

 bill greyish-black above ; the throat whitish, streaked with 

 brown ; back and wing-coverts reddish-brown without streaks ; 

 forehead and breast crimson or rose-red, the grey tips of the 

 feathers being worn off. Young similar to the female, streaked 

 above with umber-brown, and greyish-yellow, the lower parts 

 light yellowish, more largely streaked with brown. 



Male, 5J, 9|, 3 A, |, *f , T , . Female, 5, 9. 



The colours of this species are so much brighter in summer, 

 when the tips of the feathers have been abraded, and the tints 

 heightened by the action of the light, that many persons can 

 hardly be persuaded that the Rose Linnet is merely the Brown 



