PASSERINE BIRDS. 



93 



about in small parties, and appeared to be somewhat timid, allowing themselves to be watched, but 

 seeking shelter when pursued. We learn from Tickell that they readily devour com, maize, and 

 rice. " After eating," says this writer, " they perch upon the branches of the trees and bushes, and 

 have no appearance of living a retired life, as is the case with the Timalias. In some respects they 

 resemble other bullfinches." 



We are happily much better acquainted with the second tribe of the same family, the European 

 species of which is named 



THE PINE GROSBEAK. 

 The Pine Grosbeak (Pinico/a cmideator) deserves our notice, as being the largest of the 

 Bullfinches. Its beak is vaulted on all sides, and the upper mandible somewhat hooked, in 



THE PINE GROSBEAK {Pinicola ettucleator). 



this respect differing from other finches ; the margin is slightly curved, and the extreme tip of 

 the under mandible rather blunted. The legs are short and strong, the toes powerful, the claws 

 large, and the wings, when closed, seldom reach beyond the first third of the tail ; the latter is 

 graduated to the centre. The Pine Grosbeak resembles the Singing Thrush in size, its length 

 being from eight to nine inches, from three to three and a half of which belong to the tail ; the 

 breadth across the wings varies from thirteen to fourteen inches, and the wing measures four and a 

 half inches from the shoulder to the tip. The plumage is rich, and somewhat straggling. In the 

 old male birds, a pretty red shade predominates, whilst those of a year old are somewhat yellower ; 

 the throat is of a paler colour, and the wings marked with two crooked lines. The individual feathers 

 are ash-grey, blackish along the shaft, tipped at the end with a red or reddish yellow, and dotted 

 here and there in the middle with a darker shade ; the edges, on the contrary, are somewhat lighter, 

 thus producing a cloudy kind of marking. The wing and tail feathers are black, bordered with a 

 light shade, these borders being much more distinct upon the shoulder-featiiers. The beak is of a 



