FINCHES. 399 



' tit-whit' ta-fn-%.' Although never varied, the song is sometimes repeated twice 

 in rapid succession, and when it is heard, the bird may usually be seen perched 

 conspicuously on the top of a bush or low tree. The marshy forest-banks of the 

 great Siberian rivers arc a favourite resort of tins bird ; and in the Baltic provinces, 

 where it is common, and in the valley of the upper Volga it is described as 

 frequenting willows and other low trees in marshy districts." In winter the 

 scarlet rose-finch ranges over the plains of India, sometimes in large flocks, but 

 more generally in small parties, frequenting alike groves, gardens, and jungles ; 

 at this season of the year its habits much resembling those of the true finches. 

 In Gilgit it breeds at an elevation of ten thousand feet above the sea. fresh eggs 

 having been obtained there in the second half of July. Early in September it 

 leaves the hills and comes down into the valley, soon after migrating to winter 

 quartern In Central and Western Europe the scarlet grosbeak is only known 

 as a rare straggler, generally on an autumnal migration, and as such, it has 

 occurred in the British Isles. The general colour of the adult male is dark 

 brown above, washed with rosy or pale crimson; the wings and tail are dark 

 brown; the lower back and rump dull rosy: the crown of the head dull crimson, 

 extending to the hind-neck; the cheeks, throat and breast bright crimson; the 

 centre of the breast and under-parts dull white, slightly washed with crimson; 

 Indian specimens as a rule being much more Brilliant than those obtained in 

 Northern Europe. The female lacks the bright colours of the other sex, being of 

 an olive-brown above, with the lower back and rump olive-brown; the wing- 

 coverts dark brown, edged with olive and tipped with yellowish white, forming 

 a double wing-bar; the wing-quills and tail dark brown, edged with olive; the 

 throat dull white streaked with brown; the fore-neck and breast ochreous butt' 

 with distinct dusky centres to the feathers; the under parts white; and the sides 

 of the body and flanks brown with dusky stripes. Mr. Seebohin states that males 

 in the first winter plumage are scarcely distinguishable from adult females, and 

 even in summer plumage are sometimes indistinguishable from them. 



The bullfinches can generally be recognised by their large head, 

 Bullfinches. fe J to . . b 



short, swollen beak, and abbreviated wings, the tail being either square 



or slightly forked. Their pattern of plumage assists identification, since both sexes 



unite the characters of a white rump, together with deep black wings and tail. The 



common bullfinch (Pi/rrhula rubicilla) inhabits the woods and thickets of Northern 



Europe and Siberia, giving place in Central and Southern Europe, as well as in the 



British Isles, to a similar form, identical in the arrangement of colours, but of duller 



tints and inferior size. The Azores possess a peculiar species of bullfinch, which has 



almost entirely lost the bright colours adorning the males of the other members of 



the genus ; and another plain-coloured species is the brown bullfinch of the 



Himalaya, whose range apparently overlaps that of yet another Himalayan species, 



the red-headed bullfinch. The orange bullfinch is found in Kashmir and the 



adjoining territories. During the summer the habits of the common bullfinch are 



shy and retiring, but in the spring this bird appears commonly in gardens, where 



it commits serious ravages upon the buds of fruit-trees. Mr. Seebohm observes 



that there can be little doubt that bullfinches pair for life ; and it may be considered 



certain that these birds are of an affectionate disposition, the cock being rarely absent 



