310 FEIN GILL A 



and tail-coverts white ; beak dull plumbeous ; legs pale brown ; iris dark 

 brown. Culmen 0'5, wing 3 '5, tail 2'9, tarsus 0'75 inch. The female is 

 undistinguishable from that of F. ccdebs, except that perhaps it is a trifle 

 greyer. 



Hob. Algeria, Morocco, and Tunis, and is said to have 

 occurred near Marseilles. 



In its general habits it closely resembles F. ccelebs, but its 

 song is said to be harsher. It is found in the pine- and oak- 

 groves, and in the olive-gardens, and is said to be by no means 

 shy. It breeds in March, April, and May, placing its nest on 

 the branch of a tree. This latter resembles that of F. ccelebs, 

 and is neatly and artistically constructed of plant-stems, and 

 plant- down intermixed with hair and feathers, and well lined 

 with plant-down, hair, and feathers. The eggs 4 to 5 in 

 number resemble those of F. ccelels. 



456. TEYDEAN CHAFFINCH. 

 FRINGILLA TEYDEA- 



Fringilla teydea, Webb and Berth. Orn. Canar. p. 20, pi. 1, figs. 1, 2 

 (1836-44) ; Dresser, iv. p. 25, pi. 185 ; Sharpe, Cat. B. Br. Mus. 

 xii. p. 170. 



<J ad. (Teneriffe). Entire upper parts rich dark blue, the forehead and 

 lores washed with black ; wings and tail black, margined with slate-blue ; 

 under parts much paler than the upper parts, on the abdomen fading to 

 bluish white ; under tail-coverts white ; bill horn-blue, whitish at the base 

 below ; legs pale horn ; iris brown. Culmen 0'65, wing 3*9, tail 3'3, 

 tarsus 0*9 inch. The female has the upper parts dark greyish, brown, 

 the wings and tail dark brown, edged with dull light brown, the under 

 parts dull light brown, washed with slate, the abdomen and under tail- 

 coverts dirty white, the latter washed with buff. 



Hob. The peak of Teneriffe at an altitude of 7,000 to 8,000 

 feet. 



It is found only in the upper portions of the peak in the 

 pine-woods and where the pine-woods cease and the brush- 

 covered plateau commences, where it feeds on the seeds of the 

 pines, and it is more frequently found on the southern side of 

 the peak. Its food consists almost entirely of the seeds of the 

 pine (Pinus canariensis) and to a small extent only of insects. 

 It is said to be very tame, especially when seeking its food on 

 the ground, and can then be approached quite close. Its song 

 is described by Dr. Koenig as tschin-tin-tini-vi-m-m-vi-vi and 

 not so melodious as that of the Tintillon. Water is a necessity 



