2 
Hermon, where we were attracted by its clear and varied notes, which were new to us, long before 
we could detect the musician ensconced in the foliage. The same afternoon we obtained four 
more specimens; and Mr. Bartlett succeeded in cleverly entrapping a female on her nest. There 
is little difference between the sexes in plumage. The nest is by no means so neat as that of the 
Goldfinch, and shallower, rather like that of the common Linnet; and the eggs are marked like 
those of the Goldfinch, but slightly larger. We afterwards met with this Serin breeding in June 
at the Cedars.” 
I am indebted to Canon Tristram for six eggs of the present species, which both in coloration 
and form agree closely with those of the common Serin Finch in my collection, but are larger in 
size, averaging 73 by 4 inch. 
Canon Tristram says (/. c.) that he believes that Bonaparte’s Serinus syriacus (Consp. Gen. 
Ay. i. p. 523) may have been an immature specimen of this bird, but the description is vague, 
and in some respects incorrect; and in this view I fully agree. Bonaparte (J. ¢.) refers to it as 
“Fringilla syriaca, Hempr. & Ehr. Mus. Berol. ex As. occ. Bischerra,’ and describes it as 
follows :—‘“‘ Similis S. meridionali, vix major, sed coloribus dilutioribus, et alis preecipue magis 
flavescentibus: rectricibus lateralibus dimidiatim interne albidis.” On referring to the notes 
made by Mr. Blanford and myself on the birds in the Berlin Museum collected by Hemprich 
and Ehrenberg, I do not see any record of the specimen in question, which did not appear to be 
then in the collection. Canon Tristram, however, was unfortunate in the choice of his name for 
this bird, as Blyth in 1847 described Serinus pusillus (Journ. As. Soc. Beng. xvi. p. 476) under the 
name of Emberiza aurifrons, and again in 1849 (Cat. B. Mus. As. Soc. p. 125) under the name of 
Serinus aurifrons; therefore this name was already preoccupied, and there is no alternative but to 
rename it; and in so doing I cannot do better than call it after its discoverer, Serinus canonicus. 
Respecting the habits and nidification of the present species I find nothing on record beyond 
what is above transcribed from the notes published by the Canon. 
The specimens figured are an adult male and a young bird, the former from the collection 
of Messrs. Salvin and Godman, and the latter from that of Canon Tristram. As the female so 
closely resembles the male, I have not deemed it necessary to figure it. 
In the preparation of the above article I have examined the following specimens :— 
E Mus. H. E. Dresser. 
a, 2. Lebanon, June 15th, 1864 (4. B. Tristram). 
E Mus. Salvin and Godman. 
a,éd. Rashiey, Hermon, Palestine, June 6th, 1864. 6, d ad. Palestine, June 3rd, 1864 (Tristram). 
E Mus. H. B. Tristram. 
a,3,b,¢. Foot of Hermon, June 2nd & 3rd, 1864. c,2. Foot of Hermon, June 4th, 1864. d, juv. Cedars 
of Lebanon, June 16th, 1864 (H. B. T.). 
