274 



THE CITRIL FINCH. 



greyish brown on the upper, and white on the under side. 

 The feet are ten lines high, and greyish brown. The head, as 

 far as the nape of the neck, is a reddish ashen grey, spotted 

 with dark brown ; while round it, beginning from the eyes, 

 runs a ring of dull white. The back is brown, the feathers 

 having edges of reddish grey, which produces the appearance 

 of grey spots. The rump and sides are greyish brown ; the 

 under part of the body reddish grey, mixed with white. The 

 neck yellow in front, edged at the sides with ashen grey. The 

 wings greyish brown. The larger wing coverts have white 

 points. The tail feathers are greyish brown, edged with a 

 lighter shade of the same colour, and having the outermost 

 feathers tipped with white. 



The female is more prevailingly grey on the upper part of 

 the body, and has a small pale yellow spot on the front of the 

 neck. 



Observations. This bird may frequently be met with in the 

 German forests. It is a bird of passage only in cold countries. 

 In a state of nature, it feeds, like the House Sparrow, on seeds 

 and insects, and builds in hollow trees. In captivity it may 

 be fed on rape and poppy seeds, as well as on the first univer- 

 sal paste. They are oftener tamed on account of their beauty 

 or rarity, than of their song, which has no recommendation. 



114. THE CITRIL FINCH. 



Fringilla Citrinella, LIN. Venturon de Provence, BUF. Der Citronen 

 Fink, BECH. 



Description. This bird is sometimes mistaken for the Serin 

 Finch (Loxia Serinus, LIN.) ; but the peculiarity of the beak 

 is sufficient proof that it is a distinct species. The Serin Finch 

 has a short and thick beak ; while in the Citril Finch it is 

 long, sharp, and somewhat compressed, like those of the Gold- 

 finch and Siskin. The species at present before us bears a 

 strong affinity in form, colour, voice, and food to the Canary ; 

 except that it is somewhat smaller, and its voice is less sono- 

 rous. The resemblance is indeed so close, that I should take 

 the Citril Finch for the original wild stock of the Canary, were 

 not such to be found in the Canary Islands at this day. 



It is twenty-five inches in length, of which the tail measures 

 two inches, and is eight inches from tip to tip of the expanded 

 TV ings. The beak is brownish ; the feet a pale flesh colour 



