314 Timchri. 



The commoner species is the Spermophila lineola. In this, the 

 head, wings, throat and tail are velvet black ; the breast, greyish white, 

 fading into white on the vent. Besides the so-called moustache, there 

 is a white bar running along the crown of the head from the beak, and 

 a small white patch on the wings, that is, on the upper part of the 

 primaries. The under-wings are wl ite, and the secondaries are partly 

 white, though the colour does not appear externally ; the rump is grey. 

 The hen is a light olive-brown, lighter still below ; the beak, horn colour 

 and not black. 



The single note of the bird is loud and like the chirp of a sparrow ; 

 but it has a pretty song of about fifteen notes ; not, however, so varied 

 as that of the white-throat. It is a charming cage-bird, easily tamed and 

 amiable in disposition. 



The other moustache finch (Spermophia ocellata) is much rarer and 

 is not distinguished by the uninitiated from the foregoing. However, it 

 is not so slim ; there is no line of white over the head ; and along the 

 sides are round spots upon a ground of black fading into grey. From 

 this latter feature it derives it specific name of ocellata, that is, " eyed '* 

 or marked with eye-like spots. 



The Black-throated Sacki. 

 There are several species of tanagers rightly named euphorbia, 

 " sweet-voiced.'' The smallest (Euphonia minuta) is a tiny bird hardly 

 three inches in length, from tip to tip of beak and tail. The tail of all 

 these birds is short, extending very little beyond the under-tail coverts, 

 and their general contour is swallow-like, being round and full. The 

 head, back, wings and tail of the minuta are deep blue, with a green 

 sheen on the primaries ; the throat is deeper blue rather than black. 

 The breast is a rich yellow, the under-tail coverts white, as are also the 

 under-wings. The forehead is yellow and gives the bird the air of 

 wearing a jockey cap with a square peak turned back. The bill, more 

 like a swallow's than a finch's, is slaty blue. The sexes are alike, or 

 nearly so. The bird soon becomes accustomed to a cage for, in spite of 

 its small size, it is very intelligent and fully alive to the fitness of things. 

 Held gently by the feet and stroked on the back, it may be trained to 

 pour forth its musical song : chic-chic-cheek-cheek. It has a loud note for 

 so small a bird. Its ordinary song sounds something like this : " thet- 

 thet-thit, thit, thet, wee, wee, chic-chic, are you going away ? don't go 

 away, don't go away!" and all the while it flips its wings and turns from 

 side to side. It is, of course, a fruit-eating bird and thrives on yellow 

 plantain I should prefer to call it the Jockey-sacki. 



The Buck-canary. 

 Euphonia Violacea, or the Buck-canary as it is vulgarly called, or 

 in more polite society the Louis d'or, is much larger than the black- 

 throat, being fully four inches, bill and tail included. Like minuta it is 

 blue above and yellow below, but the yellow extends from tail to beak 

 and the yellow of the forehead is rounded above. The hen is a dull 



