188 BEARDED REED BIRD. 



necting the conical-billed birds with the insectivorous 

 ones ; and they have so many points of resemblance 

 to the pipits, which are insectivorous, that these used 

 to be included in the same genus. The buntings 

 stand in nearly the same relation to the larks that 

 the bearded reed bird does to the tits, one of them at 

 least is a reed bird, and they are all more vegetable 

 in their feeding than the larks. 



The finches and linnets have the bill the most per- 

 fectly conical ; and they are thus the most typical 

 birds of the order. They are vegetable, or nearly so 

 in their feeding, at all seasons. Extending over a 

 great range in latitude, and inhabiting places] very 

 different in their vegetation, from the dense forest to 

 the bushless waste, they feed very indiscriminately on 

 the seeds of trees and herbaceous plants, and often 

 the thick tunics of wintering buds. Their bills are 

 simply bruising bills, though they vary in form, size 

 and strength, according to the food of the birds. In 

 general, however, the mandibles are of equal length, 

 and very sharp at the tips. The following is the 

 general type. 



Finch. 



The crossbills form a very curious exception to 

 the bills of this order of birds, as will be seen in the 



