SNOW BinD.—Fringilla hyemdlis. 



earth, for the purpose of breeding. Even in the business of rearing their young, the 

 Snow Birds are very gregarious, placing the nest upon the ground, or on the grass, in close 

 proximity to each other. 



Tlie head, neck, and upper parts of the body, and the wings, are very deep slaty brown, 

 either colour predominating according to the age of the individual and the season of the 

 year. The lower parts of the breast and the abdomen are pure snowy white, and the two 

 exterior tail-feathers are of the same hue, the secondaries being dark slate. The female has 

 but little of the slaty blue, and is almost wholly brown. The total length of this species 

 is about six inches. 



Theee are many other British Birds which are worthy of notice, such as the Lesser 

 and Mealy Eedpoles, the Mountain Linnet, or Twite, and others ; but as our space will 

 not permit us to give a history of all the British birds, we must now pass on to another 

 species, which, although not indigenous to England, has become so far naturalized, that to 

 many eyes it is even more familiar than the sparrow. 



The pretty little Canary Bied, so prized as a domestic pet, derives its name from the 

 locality whence it was originally brought. 



Rather more than three hundred years ago, a ship was partly laden with little green 

 birds captured in the Canary Islands, and having been wrecked near Elba, the birds made 

 their escape, flew to the island and there settled themselves. Numbers of them were 

 caught by the inhabitants, and on account of their sprightly vivacity and the brilliancy 

 of their voice they soon became great favourites, and rapidly sj)read over Europe. 



The original colour of the Canary is not the bright yellow with which its feathers are 

 generally tinted, but a kind of dappled olive-green, black, and yellow, either colour 

 predominating according to circumstances. By careful management, however, the bird- 

 fanciers are able to procure Canaries of every tint between the three colours, and have 

 instituted a set of rules by which the quality and arrangement of the colouring is reduced 

 to a regular system. Still, the original dappled green is always apt to make its appearance ; 

 and even when two light-coloured birds are mated, a green young one is pretty sure to be 

 found in the nest. Eor my own part, I care little for the artificial varieties produced by 



