66 FINCH. 



and snowy seasons ; for the most part observed on the ground. 

 Gesner's bird was met with in Switzerland, one having come by 

 chance into the apartments of Kyburg, an old castle there, at 

 Christmas, 1559, and considered as a rare bird. 



The Rev. J. White, who long resided at Gibraltar, observes, that 

 it is seen there in small flights of seven or eight, on the east part of 

 the rock, hopping from bush to bush, aud keeping pretty close 

 together : it feeds on seeds only, for Mr. White mentions, that two 

 having been shot, and one of them but slightly hurt, he put it into 

 a cage ; it soon grew very tame, and was fed with canary seed, but 

 after a month it sickened and died : the other, which was killed, 

 being opened, nothing was found in the stomach but seeds. The 

 ranking it, therefore, with the Starling Genus, seems improper, as 

 that bird feeds only on worms and insects ; and for the same reason it 

 should be removed from the Warblers, with which it was last placed. 

 It has a weak, slender note; fond of covered places, where it may 

 enjoy retirement, being a solitary and shy species, and oftener seen 

 on the ground than elsewhere : it is far from a common bird. 



21.- CRESCENT FINCH. 



Fringilla arcuata, Ind. Om. i. 440. Gm. Lin. i. 912. Shaw's Zool. x. 530. 



Passer Capitis B. Spei, Bris. iii. 104. t. 5. f. 3. Id. 8vo. i. 336. 



Le Croissant, Buf. iii. 501. 



Moineau du Cap de Bonne Esperance, PL enl. 230. 1. 



Crescent Finch, Gen. Syn. iii. 2G6. 



SIZE of the House Sparrow ; length six inches. Bill black ; 

 head, and neck before, as far as the breast, black; from the eye a 

 streak of white passes down on each side of the neck, and growing 

 broader, surrounds the fore part as a crescent ; hind part of the neck 

 pale brown ; back, scapulars, and lesser wing coverts chestnut ; the 

 middle coverts black, tipped with white; the greatest and quills 



