CHR YSOMITRIS 279 



$ ad. (Baden). Crown, space round the bill as far as the eye, throat, 

 under parts, rump, and upper tail-coverts yellowish apple-green ; nape, 

 hind-neck and its sides slaty blue ; back dull green, with dusky streaks ; 

 wings and tail blackish externally with narrow yellow margins, the former 

 with a greenish yellow band across ; flanks slaty grey ; bill dark purplish 

 blue ; legs fleshy brown ; iris dark brown. Ciilraen 0'4, wing 315, tail 

 2 '45, tarsus 0'6 inch. The female is rather duller, has less yellow on the 

 head, the back, is brownish grey, and the under parts paler, the breast 

 slaty blue intermixed with apple-green. 



Hob. The mountains of central arid southern Europe, not 

 occurring in Great Britain, wintering at lower levels ; is said 

 to occur, though rarely, in Algeria. 



In habits it much resembles the Siskin, and like that species 

 affects conifer in preference to deciduous trees, and its nest 

 is almost always placed on a fir-tree. Its flight resembles 

 that of the Goldfinch, but it is swifter. Its usual note is a 

 somewhat melancholy twitter, but its song is clear and sweet 

 somewhat resembling that of the Siskin. It feeds almost 

 entirely on small seeds. Its nest, which is usually placed on the 

 bough of a fir-tree is rather larger than, but not quite so neat as 

 that of the Serin Finch, is constructed of rootlets, grass-bents, 

 and moss, neatly lined with very fine rootlets intermixed with 

 a little thistle-down and wool. The eggs, 4 to 5 in number, 

 are white with a blue-green or sea-green tinge, sparingly 

 marked with a pale red shell- and a dark red surface-blotch or 

 dot or two, but have a wreath of pale red and reddish brown spots 

 round the larger end, and resemble small eggs of the Goldfinch, 

 in size averaging about 0'65 by 0'48. 



411. SUBSP. CHRYSOMITRIS CORSICANA. 



Chrysonutns Corsica-net, Koenig, Orn. Monatsber. vii. p. 120 (1899) ; 

 C. citrinella^ Dresser, p. 536, pi. 167 (nee. Linn.) 



( ad. (Corsica). Differs from C. citrinella in having the back pale 

 brown (not green) striped with dark brown, the rump greener, and the 

 under parts yellow. 



Hal. Corsica. 



This form which I described as the winter dress of C. citrinella 

 is, as I subsequently ascertained, fairly separable from that 

 species. Dr. Koenig met with it in April in Corsica, but I find 

 no account of its habits or nidification which probably do not 

 differ from those of C. citrinella. 



