HOLBOELL'S REDPOLL, 41 



Professor Newton records his opinion that the 

 lengthened bill is only due to the nature 9f the 

 food on which the bird subsists at certain seasons 

 of the year. 



Redpolls are birds of the north, and inhabit 

 North America as well as the northern parts of 

 Europe and Asia. They belong to the same 

 genus as the Linnets and Twites, of which about ten 

 species are recognised by naturalists. Of these 

 the best-known British species are the Common 

 or Brown Linnet (C. cannabina) , the Twite 

 (C. flavirostris) and the Lesser Redpoll (C. 

 rufescens). The Redpolls are principally dis- 

 tinguished from the Linnets and Twites by 

 always having a red patch on the forhead, the 

 males of the latter alone possessing this character. 

 From the male Linnets and Twites, however, the 

 Redpolls may always be distinguished by having 

 a black spot on the chin, and by having white, or 

 buffy ■«vhite bars on the wings, formed by the pale 

 tips to the wing-coverts. 



All the Redpolls appear to be very similar in 

 their habits, though these vary slightly according 

 to the species and the countries which they 

 inhabit. It is very difficult to write with any 



