3 
October, 1848; but in the Alpes Maritimes it nests regularly, and thence flocks descend annually 
in more or less abundance to Provence. It is an inhabitant of the moderately elevated portions 
of the Pyrenees, and in winter and early spring it visits the lower regions about Toulouse; but 
Dr. Company6 says that it is only in the severest winters that it is found in the neighbourhood 
of Perpignan. 
Colonel Irby did not meet with it in Spain; but Mr. Howard Saunders sends me the 
following notes, together with a specimen in its first autumn plumage:—‘“I send to you the 
only Spanish specimen which I actually possess, and which is an immature bird, captured by a 
birdcatcher near Madrid in the autumn of 1869; but during the severe winter of 1867-68 I 
found it abundant in the neighbourhood of Malaga, and the birdcatchers had plenty in their 
cages at the ‘feria’ held every Sunday in the drier portions of the bed of the river Guadalmedina, 
which divides the town into two portions. As they were very much soiled I did not purchase 
any; and as soon as the weather became a little warmer the flocks returned to the mountains. 
In the last days of March 1869 a pair were finishing their nest in the precincts of the 
Alhambra, at Granada; and I watched the birds daily until three eggs were laid, when, having 
to leave the place, I took the whole, on the 4th of April; but, owing to the position chosen, it was 
impossible to shoot the birds, the Alhambra being sacred ground. There could be no mistake 
about the birds, which I frequently observed from a few yards’ distance, the nest being in a small 
fork at the side of a tree, about 7 feet from the ground, much the same situation as would be 
chosen by a Greenfinch. The nest is warmly lined, but larger than, and quite different from, 
that of the Serin Finch; the eggs are nearly as large as those of the Goldfinch, but somewhat 
resemble miniature Greenfinches’ eggs. I observe that Colonel Irby (Ornith. Straits Gibraltar, 
p- 123) did not obtain it on either side of the Straits; but at this I am not surprised, as the 
country near and to the west of Gibraltar is not adapted to it: but in the ‘ faldas de la sierra,’ or 
intermediate mountain districts, it is, I believe, a resident species. Don Angel Guirao, a careful 
observer, states that it is common in the higher districts of Murcia.” 
In Switzerland, Savoy, and in the mountains of Baden, the present species is common. It 
is said to be numerous in most parts of Switzerland; and Meisner and Schinz say that the Citril 
Finch breeds on the Gurnigel, and that in the autumn they collect in flocks and descend lower 
down the mountains. Near Bern it is seen in spring, and in the autumn numbers are snared 
sometimes near Thun; but they disappear in winter. 
Owing to confusion with Serinus hortulanus, it has been stated by various authors to be 
common and resident in Italy; but this is denied by Savi, Salvadori, and Doderlein, who are 
unaware of any authentic record of its occurrence beyond the more northern districts, such as 
Piedmont, Venice, and Lombardy, and even there principally in the autumn and winter, its 
departure in spring being invariable. Both Doderlein and Benoit deny its reported occurrence 
in Sicily; and Salvadori considers that there is no authentic instance of its being found in the 
island of Sardinia. 
Lord Lilford informs me that when at Corsica in February last he saw large flocks of Citril 
Finches near Porto Vecchio, and obtained two specimens, a male and a female. ‘These he has 
lent to me for examination; and I observe that they are rather remarkable in having the back 
brown without any tinge of grey, and judge that this must be the full winter dress, rather than 
3F 
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