THE PERCHING-BIRDS 127 
the REp, BRown, and Grey LINNETS—existed. It is now known that these are all phases of 
plumage common to one species. In the male in full summer dress the forehead and centre 
of the crown are blood-red, whilst the breast is of a elossy rose-red; but these bright colours 
do not seem to be acquired so universally as is the case with other birds which don a special 
breeding-dress, nor are they ever developed in captivity. Occasionally what are called LEMON- 
BREASTED varictics of the linnet occur in which the rose-colour of the breast is replaced by yellow. 
The BULLFINCH, though one of the common British birds, is by no means so abundant as 
the two foregoing species; for whilst the other two travel in small flocks, the bullfinch is a 
solitary bird. Few birds perhaps have earned a more evil name than the bullfinch, which 
is accused by the gardener of inflicting enormous damage on the flower-buds of fruit-trees in 
winter and spring. ‘On the other hand,” writes Mr. Hudson, ‘‘he is greatly esteemed as a 
cage-bird, and the bird-catchers are ever on the watch for it. But the effect in both cases 
is pretty much the same, since the hatred that slays and the love that makes captive are 
equally disastrous to the species.” That it 
is diminishing in many districts there can be 
no doubt, and perhaps its final extermination 
is only a matter of time. Though by no 
means a remarkable songster in a wild state, 
in captivity itis capable of learning to whistle 
strains and airs of human composition with 
some skill, good performers fetching high 
prices. 
The SPARROW and the wild CANARY of 
Madeira — from the latter of which our cage- 
pets have been derived — are also members of 
the Finch Tribe, but are too well known to 
need fuller mention. 
Closely allied to the finches are the 
BUNTINGS, which are really only slightly 
modified finches. Several species are British 
birds, one of the commonest being the CORN- 
BUNTING, a bird which bears a wonderful 
resemblance to a skylark, from which, how- 
ever, it may be distinguished by its large 
beak and small claw on the hind toe. 
The YELLOWAMMER, or YELLOWHAM- Bisel 5 Shean 
MER, is another familiar roadside form in GREENFINCH 
England, which scarcely needs description. Commonly known as the Green Linnet 
The most celebrated of all the buntings 
is the ORTOLAN, or GREEN-HEADED BUNTING, a bird resembling its congener the yellowhammer, 
but lacking its bright coloration. It has acquired fame from the delicate flavour of its flesh, 
and to supply the demand for this delicacy immense numbers are netted annually by the 
bird-catchers of the Continent. Wintering in North Africa, these birds leave Europe in 
September in large flocks, and it is during this migration and the return journey in the 
spring that their ranks are so mercilessly thinned. Common over the greater part of Europe, 
it is somewhat surprising that the ortolan does not occur more frequently in the British 
Islands, where it is only an occasional spring and autumn visitor. 
The SNOW-BUNTING, or SNOWFLAKE, is a regular winter visitant to the British Islands, some 
pairs indeed remaining to breed in the Highlands of Scotland every year, whilst its presence 
serves to enliven some of the dreariest spots of high northern latitudes. The male in 
breeding-dress is a handsome bird, having the upper-parts black and the under white; its 
mate is somewhat duller, the black parts being obscured by greyish white, fulvous, and blackish 
MA 
