( I* ) 



ORD. III. GENUS VI. FINCH. 



Uill, ftrong, conic, and pointed. 



Nostrils, at the bafe of the bill; moftly covered with hair-like feathers. 

 Tongue, pointed at the end, covered with a hard fcale, ufeful in removing 

 the (hells of hard coated feeds their chief food. 



SPECIES I. HOUSE SPARROW. 



PL 71. 



Fringilla domeftica. Lin. Syft. I. p. 30.3. 

 Le Moineau franc. Brif. Orn. III. p. 72. 



The bill of this bird is of a dark horn colour, yellowifh at the bafe : eyes 

 reddiih brown: top of the head and cheeks grey: between the bill and round 

 the eye black, as are likewife the throat and bread: the back of the head and 

 neck is of a rich chefnut coloured brown: the lefs wing coverts the fame, tip- 

 ped with white, forming a broadifh bar on the wings : back and greater wing 

 coverts yellowifli brown : part of each feather on the back and wings is black : 

 the quills and middle tail feathers of a dufky black ; two outer tail feathers 

 edged with buff colour : belly palifh grey : legs reddifh brown. 



The female has not the grey head or the black on the throat, and is of a dull 

 brown coloured plumage all over. 



Thefe birds are great devourers of grain, and I might juftly add a pair of 

 fparrows killed in fpring would fave the farmer a bufhel of corn in harveft. 

 They make a warm neft, well lined with feathers, about houfes, and are parti- 

 cularly deftrudYive to the thatch on barns, in which they make holes to breed in. 

 They feed on every kind of grain, feeds, and infects ; have feveral broods of 

 young in the year ; and are very careful to make a neft to protect themfelves 

 from the cold in winter. I have feen the wrens and titmice alfo make a com- 

 fortable neft in October, and found that they always returned at night to rooft in 

 it, and if the weather were very fevere rarely ventured out in the day time, 



For the egg of this fpecies fee PI. XVII. Fig. 1, 



