glance. And so, too, may the yellow and the grey wagtails. 

 The last named has the longest tail of all, and is further 

 marked by his beautiful grey back and bright sulphur 

 abdomen and under tail coverts. All have white feathers 

 in the tail. The pipits and skylarks, like the wagtails, have 

 very long inner secondaries, but they can never be confused 

 on this account. They can never be mistaken for wagtails, 

 but on the other hand, the several species can be distinguished, 

 when on the wing, only by long practice. 



The chaflftnch, greenfinch, and goldfinch are with us all 

 the year round, keeping each to his favourite haunts. Most 

 people know them well. But one meets even people Uving 

 in the heart of the country who cannot caU them by name ! 

 The cock chaffinch can be distinguished at once by its white 

 " shoulders," and white bars across the wing, apart from the 

 bright hues of the body, so well shown in the adjoining 

 Plate. The hen has similar wing-marks, but lacks the bright 

 colours of her lord. His cousin, the brambling — ^who comes 

 to us in the winter — ^is just as easily identified by his orange- 

 coloured shoulder patch — ^in place of white — and white rump, 

 which is most conspicuous during flight. The greenfinch is 

 marked, when in flight, by the yellow rump and bright yellow 

 patches at the base of the tail-feathers. Who could mistake 

 the goldfinch for any one else but himself ? He looks like 

 a butterfly as he flutters about on the tops of tall thistles. 



75 



