78 



CHAFFINCH. 



CERTHIA (Illiger.) — * Creeper, a genus thus characterised. 

 Bill long, or of mean length, more or less curved, triangular, compressed, 

 slender, and sharp pointed. Tongue short. Nostrils at the base 

 pierced horizontally, naked, and partly covered with an arched mem- 

 brane. Legs with the feet having three toes before, and one behind, 

 which last is strong and of some length ; the outer toe united at its 

 base to the middle one. Tail wedge-shaped, composed of twelve 

 stiff, sharp pointed, and deflected feathers. Wings having the first 

 quill short, the second and third shorter than the fourth, which is the 

 longest in the wing. It contains only one British species. 



The very miscellaneous genus Certhia of Gmelin and Latham, be- 

 sides the above, is now distributed among Ccereba, JYectarinia, Cli- 

 macteris, &c* 



CERTHIADiE (Vigors.)— * Birds of the Creeper kind.* 

 CHACKER, CHACK, CHACKBIRD, and CHUCK.— Names 

 for the Wheatear. 



CHAFFINCH (*Fringilla spiza, Rennie.) 



Fringilla coelebs, Linn. Syst. 1. p. 318.— Gmel. Syst. 1. p. 901. sp. 5.— Lath. Tnd. 

 Orn. 1. p. 437. 12.— Raii, Syn. p. 88. 16. A. — Will. p. 186. t. 45. f. 4,— Briss, 

 3. p. 184. 36.— Le Pinson, Buff. Oh. 4. p. 109. t. 4.— Ib. pi. Enl. 54. f. 1. the 

 male. — Gros-Bec Pinson, Temm. Man. d'Orn. 1. p. 357. — GemeineFink, Bechst. 

 Naturg. Deut.3.p. 75.— Meyer, Tasschenb. Deut. l.p. 150. — Ib. Vog. Deut. 1. 

 f. 1. and 2. male and female in spring plumage. — Frisch,t. l.f. 1. — Scheld Fink, 

 Sepp, Nederl. Vbg. p. 141.— Chaffinch, Br. Zool. 1. No. 125— Arct. Zool. 2. 

 p. 381. F. — Will. CAngU p. 253. 45.— Albin, 1. t. 63.— Lath. Syn. 3. p. 259. 

 10.— lb. Supp. p. 165.— Lewin's Br. Birds, 2. t. 79. — Wale. Syn. t.217.— Pult. 

 Cat. Dorset, p. 12. — Mont. Orn. Diet. 1. — Bewick's Br. Birds, p. 160. — Low's 

 Faun. Oread, p. 12.— Shaw's Zool. 9. p. 442. 65. fig. l.—Selby, pi. 54. fig. 6. 7. 

 p. 269. 



Provincial. — Spink. Beechfinch. Pink. Twink. Skelly. Shell- 

 Apple. Horsefinch. Scobby. Shilfa. 



As the Linnsean name of Bachelor (ccelebs) appears to me very 

 inappropriate, when applied to a bird so remarkable for the neatness of 

 its nest and for domestic attachment, I have restored the name of 

 spiza, given it by Aristotle in his Hist. Anim. 8. p. 1.* 



This bird is rather less than the sparrow. The bill is bluish ; irides 

 hazel ; the forehead black ; crown of the head, back part, and sides of 

 the neck, bluish ash-colour ; the cheeks, under side of the neck, and 

 breast, dull pink ; back chestnut-brown ; rump greenish ; belly white, 

 tinged with pink ; the bastard wing and coverts of the primary quills 

 are black ; those of the secondary tipped with white ; the smaller 

 coverts black and greyish, on which is a spot of white ; the quill- 

 feathers dusky, slightly edged with greenish yellow on the outer webs, 

 marked with white on both webs at the base ; tail dusky ; the exterior 

 feather is obliquely marked with white, taking in the whole of the 

 outer web, the next is tipped with white ; legs dusky. 



