275 



PENSILE GROSBEAK. 

 (Loxia pensilis.) 



L. viridis sabtus grisea, crisso rufo, capite colloque inferiore Jlavis, 



remigibus rectricibusque nigris. 

 Green Grosbeak, beneath grey, vent rufous, with the head and 



lower part of the neck yellow ; quills and tail-feathers black. 

 Loxia pensilis. Gmel. Syst. Nat. 1. 860. — Lath. Ind. Orn. 1. 



381.34. 



Le Nelicourvi de Madagascar. Son. Voy. Ind. 2. 200. 22. 

 Pensile Grosbeak. Lath. Gen. Syn. 3. 131. 32. 



This bird is described by Sonnerat as a native 

 of Madagascar : it is above five inches in length : 

 beak black : irides, head, throat, and fore-part of 

 the neck yellow : from the nostrils to the back part 

 of the head, passing through the eyes, is a dull 

 green stripe, which gets broader after reaching the 

 eyes : hinder part of the head and neck, back, 

 wing-coverts, and rump yellow : quills black with 

 green edges : vent red : belly grey : legs and tail 

 black. 



The nest of this bird is composed of straw and 

 reeds, and is of the shape of a bag with the opening 

 beneath : it is not made fresh every year, but the 

 new one is fastened to the end of the old one, till 

 at last five or six are found attached together ; 

 there are often as many as four or five hundred of 

 these nests found on a single tree, these birds being 

 very fond of society ; the true nest is on one side 

 within: the bird is said to produce only three young 

 at a time. 



