SEBIN FINCH. 29 



In Badeker's work upon European eggs, I find the following remarks 

 about this bird by Brehm: — "The Serin Finch inhabits the south of 

 Europe, Asia Minor, and North Africa. In Germany it removes in 

 a remarkable manner towards the north. I saw it at Nuremberg in 

 1880, and for three years at Jena and Dresden. It comes into the 

 south of Germany during the first fortnight in April. The half-bowl- 

 formed nest is made of grass and stalks of plants, and lined with 

 feathers and hairs. Many also use the catkins of the willow upon 

 the under layer, whilst others are made almost entirely of rootlets, 

 and some build almost exclusively of the clustering blossoms of the 

 chesnuts. It lays in May five eggs, which are similar to those of 

 F. citrinella in size and markings. The ground-colour is pale green, 

 having at the narrow end faint reddish grey spots, in the middle 

 brown, while, at the greater end, the small streaks and dots are black 

 brown." 



Savi's interesting account does not differ from those I have given. 

 It appears in Tuscany in flocks in April. 



The male in breeding plumage has all the upper parts olivaceous, 

 with longitudinal black markings; the vertex, throat, crop, and an 

 imperfect collar round the neck, greenish yellow; the nape mottled 

 yellow and olivaceous; the lower part of the body and flanks dirty 

 white, the latter being marked with longitudinal brown spots. The 

 wings are crossed with two narrow yellowish white bands. Primaries 

 and tail quills brown, bordered lightly with dirty white; the rump is 

 clear canary yellow; beak horn brown above, whitish below; feet and 

 iris brown. In autumn the colours are less pure. 



The female has less yellow in its plumage than the male, more black 

 above, and more brown spots below. 



Before the first moult the young are variegated with grey and yel- 

 lowish, with elongated brown markings. 



My figures of the bird and its eg^ are from specimens in my own 

 collection. 



The bird has also been figured by Buffbn, pi. enl. 658, (male;) Roux, 

 Ornith. Provence, pi. 94, (male and female;) Bouteille, Ornith. du 

 Dauph., pi. 34, fig. 4; Gould, B. of E., pi. 195; Temminck, Atlas du 

 Manuel; Vieillot, Galerie des Oiseaux, pi. 62, et Faune Franc, pi. Sdi, 

 fig. 1; Naumann^ Vogel Deutsch., vol. v, pi. 123. 



