MOUNTAIN LINNET. 115 



rufous-brown ; the two former plain, except the ear-coverts, 

 which are finely streaked with greyish-brown, and the lat- 

 ter are streaked with dusky lines along the shafts : the rest 

 of the under parts are white. The iris is dusky, the legs 

 nearly black. The beak is small in size ; it is in summer 

 lemon colour, in winter yellowish-white. 



Very little change is perceptible in the colour of this 

 Linnet at different seasons, except that the red upon the 

 rump is less brilliant in winter, and spotted with dusky. 



In the female and young of the year, the rufous-brown 

 edges of the feathers are paler, and the central dark parts 

 dusky, instead of black : the rump has no tint of rose colour, 

 but is tessellated with two shades of brown, like the rest 

 of the back. The beak is paler in colour, and has a dark 

 tip. 



The Mountain Linnet has often been confused with the 

 common linnet, and the two redpoles ; but besides the 

 difference of its colouring, this species may always be dis- 

 tinguished from either by its different flight, manners, and 

 form. In its manner of flying, it is light and noiseless, 

 often sustaining itself in the air by fluttering its wings so 

 quickly as to render them almost invisible. In its form 

 it is much more slender than that of the linnet or the 

 redpole, and its tail longer in proportion. It is a cheerful, 

 lively, and active species. 



This species is the Fringilla mantium of Gmelin ; and 

 the Twite of Montagu. 



The egg of the Mountain Linnet is figured 1 1 1 in the 

 plate. 



i 2 



