GROSBEAK. 227 



20.— ABYSSINIAN GROSBEAK. 



Loxia Abyssinica, Ind. Orn. i. 381. Gm. Lin. i. 860. Daud. ii. 395. Shaic's Zool. 



ix. 294. 

 Grosbec d'Abyssinie, Buf. iii. 470. 

 Tisserin, Tern. Man. Ed. ii. Anal. p. lxx. 

 Abyssinian Grosbeak, Gen. Syn. iii. 131. Wood's Zool. i. p. 482. 



SIZE of the Hawfinch. Bill similar, and black; irides red ; top 

 and sides of the head, throat, and breast, black ; upper part of the 

 body, the belly, and thighs, pale yellow, inclining to brown where 

 the two colours divide ; scapulars blackish ; the wing coverts brown, 

 bordered with grey ; quills and tail brown, edged with yellow ; legs 

 reddish grey. 



Inhabits India ; makes a pyramidical nest, suspended from the 

 ends of the branches, with an opening on one side, facing the east; 

 the cavity separated in the middle by a partition, up which the bird, 

 on entering, has to rise perpendicularly, about half way ; when on 

 descending, the nest is found in the cavity on the other side ; by this 

 means the brood is not only secure from rain, which often lasts for 

 six months together, but also from snakes, squirrels, monkies, and 

 other enemies. 



21— PENSILE GROSBEAK. 



Loxia Pensilis, Ind. Orn. i. 381. Gm.Lin.i. 860. Daud. ii. 396. 



Nelicourvi de Madagascar, Son. Voy. Ind. ii. 200. t. 22. 



Toddy Bird, Fryer's Trav. (Ed. 1698.) p. 76. 



Tisserin, Tern. Man. Ed. ii. Anal. p. lxx. 



Yellowish-coloured Bird, like a Canary Bird, Keempf. Jap. 35. 



Pensile Grosbeak, Gen. Syn. iii. 131. Will. pi. 77.— Nest. 



SIZE of a House Sparrow. Bill and tail black ; irides yellow ; 

 head, throat, and fore part of the neck the same ; from the nostrils, 



G g2 



