COLLECTION OF BIRDS. 55^ 



seventh and eighth shelves. To this group be- 

 long the goldfinch, the linnet of the vines ( frin- 

 gilla cannabina), the fringilla linaria, and the 

 Canary bird (f. canarind) (i). The widow birds 

 follow the goldfinches ; the long feathers of 

 their tail give them a peculiar appearance ; they 

 are all from Africa. On the six following shelves 

 are the numerous species of grosbeaks (cocco- 

 thraustes, Cuv.). On the fifteenth is the bullfinch 

 and its congeners. All these birds feed upon 

 seeds, and are much sought for the sweetness of 

 their voice, the beauty of their colours, and the 

 facility with which they are tamed. The cross- 

 bills (loxia curvirostra, Lin.), which inhabit the 

 pine forests of the northern parts of the two con- 

 tinents, are at the bottom of this case. The Euro- 

 pean crossbill is very familiar ; it takes its food 

 in the claws, and carries it to the mouth as the 

 parrots do : it builds its nest, and hatches in Ja- 

 nuary. The greater bullfinch of the north {loxia 

 enucleator), and the colies of the Cape, are on 

 the same shelf; the latter live in numbers ; they 

 sleep suspended to the branches of trees, the head 

 downwards, close to each other. The last bird 

 of this shelf is the beef-eater [bufaga africanci)^ 

 so called because it takes out and feeds upon 



(i) This species pairs with its congeners^ and its produce is endowed 

 with the same fecundity. 



