104 
SERIN FINCH. 
nest is made of grass and stalks of plants, and lined 
ivitli feathers and hairs. INIany also use the catkins of 
the willow upon the under layer, Avhilst others are 
made almost entirely of rootlets, and some build almost 
exclusively of the clustering blossoms of the chesnuts. 
It lays in May five eggs, which are similar to those 
of F. citrinella in size and markings. The ground- 
colour is pale green, having at the narrow end faint 
reddish grey spots, in the middle brown, Avhile, at the 
greater end, the small streaks and dots are black broAvn.” 
Savi’s interesting account does not differ from those 
I have given. It appears in Tuscany in flocks in 
April. 
The male in breeding plumage has all the upper 
parts olivaceous, Avith longitudinal black markings; the 
vertex, throat, crop, and an imperfect collar round the 
neck, greenish yelloAv; the nape mottled yellow and 
olivaceous; the lower part of the body and flanks 
dirty whitfe, the latter being marked Avith longitudinal 
broAvn s^iots. The wings are crossed Avith tAVO narroAV 
yellowish Avhite bands. Primaries and tail quills broAAUi, 
bordered lightly with dirty white; the rump is clear 
canary yelloAv; beak horn brown above, whitish below; 
feet and iris broAvn. In autumn the colours are less 
pure. 
The female has less yelloAV in its plumage than the 
male, more black above, and more broAvn spots below. 
Before the first moult the young are variegated Avith 
grey and yellowish, Avith elongated broAvn markings. 
My figures of the bird and its egg are from speci- 
mens kindly sent me by Mr. Tristram. 
The bird lias also been figured by Bufibn, pi. enl. 
658, (male;) Roux, Ornith. Provence, pi. 94, (male and 
female;) Boutcil, Ornith. du Dauph., pi. 34, fig. 4; 
