39 o PERCHING BIRDS. 



ringing like silver bells through the still desert, or the almost imperceptible chords 

 of an harmonium played by unseen hands. Again it changes, and this time its 

 notes resemble the deep croak of the green frog of the Canaries, but less coarse, 

 hastily repeated one after another. . . . The desert-finch does not appear frequently 

 on the steep, rocky hills. ... It is much more partial to the black lava-streams of 

 the desert, which, full of gaping rents and chasms, hardly permits a blade of grass 

 to become green. They feed entirely or almost so on the seeds either of grasses, 

 which are found like a mealy kind of bread in their stomachs when killed, or the 

 oily seeds of composite and cruciferous plants, which they shell, like other finches, 

 by moving them most carefully backwards and forwards between the mandibles of 

 their strong beaks." This bird will also eat tender young leaves, Mr. Hume having 

 observed it in Sind feeding in desert places in patches of mustard and other 

 cultivation. It cannot long dispense with water, and must often fly some miles 

 daily to get it ; and the presence of these finches in the desert is always a good 

 omen for the thirsty traveller. " I have constantly seen them," continues our author, 

 " fly to drink in flocks. They drink much at a time in long draughts, between 

 which they lift up their heads. After drinking they are very fond of bathing. I 

 have never seen them roll about in the dust like sparrows. The breeding-time 

 begins in March, and like those of most true desert-birds the nest is well concealed, 

 and with such foresight that it can hardly ever be found. ... I know, however, 

 from the goat-herds of Fuertaventura, that the moras, as they are called there, 

 build in crevices under large overhanging stones upon the ground. The nest has a 

 tolerably strong texture, and is woven with the coarse straws of the desert-grass 

 and lined within with great feathers, mostly of the ostrich and bustard, as well as 

 the wool of the camel and hair of the goat. The number of eggs is from three to 

 five. . . . They are rather large for the bird, pale sea-green, or lighter, with small 

 spots and points of reddish brown. These finches certainly breed twice, if not more 

 frequently. The second moult takes place in July." The desert-finch occasionally 

 strays from its southern home into the Mediterranean region. The adult male in 

 the breeding-season has the upper plumage, including the crown, ashy grey ; the 

 forehead, cheeks, rump, and all the lower plumage of a beautiful rose-pink; 

 and the wings and tail brown, edged with rose-pink. The female is similar, but 

 with all her tints duller. 



The members of this group resemble the typical sparrows in 

 ' structure and habits, but differ in having a much stronger bill and 

 longer wings. Unlike the true sparrows, the female rock-sparrows have 

 however, no distinctive plumage of their own, but resemble more or less closely the 

 male birds of their own species. The rock-sparrows are found in Southern 

 Europe, extending into Central Europe, and ranging eastwards into Central Asia 

 and Siberia, as well as Northern China. One species is found in India as a 

 winter visitor, while two are resident in Africa. 



The European rock-sparrow (Petronia stidta) is found in some districts of 

 Spain and Portugal, and the South of France, as well as in Greece and Palestine. 

 Its habits resemble those of the common sparrow ; but it is generally a very shy 

 bird, flying away on the approach of danger, and constantly keeping a good 

 lookout. It nests in the ruins of old castles and crevices of the rocks, building a 



