104 FRINGILLID.E. 



as follows : The beak, which is drawn to a fine point, is 

 pearl colour, tinged towards the tip with dusky horn ; it 

 is encircled at the base by a narrow black band, the hairs 

 of which, reflected forwards, cover the nostrils ; the eye is 

 also surrounded with black. The front of the head and chin 

 is scarlet, the ear-coverts and throat white ; on the crown 

 of the head is a small black cap, the corners of which are 

 brought down behind the ear-coverts ; and a small greyish- 

 white spot occupies the nape. The back and scapulars and 

 sides of the breast are bright wood-brown. The wings are 

 beautifully varied with black and yellow ; the former occu- 

 pies the carpal portion of the wing, including the spurious 

 winglet, the lesser coverts, and part of the greater coverts. 

 The quill -feathers, secondaries, and tertials, have the basal 

 half of their outer webs bright golden yellow, the rest velvet- 

 black, with a small pearl-like spot upon each of their tips ; 

 the first quill-feather alone is dusky throughout. The tail- 

 feathers are black ; the two outer on each side have a large, 

 oval, white spot or speculum, occupying a portion of the inner 

 web, the rest of the tail-feathers have a triangular white mark 

 at their tips. The breast and flanks are tinged with wood- 

 brown, the rest of the under parts are pure white. The 

 iris is hazel, the eyelid black, and the legs are pale yellowish- 

 brown. 



The females of this species do not differ essentially from 

 the males in colour, but bird-catchers readily distinguish 

 them by the tints of their plumage being less pure ; the 

 black parts are tinged with brown, and the red feathers 

 sometimes intermixed with black. 



In young birds of the year the colours are imperfectly 

 developed ; the heads are grey instead of black, and the 

 brown parts obscured with dusky shades. 



