The Greenfinch. 



91 



flight feathers, excepting the first one, are margined with 

 yellow ; the secondary covert feathers of the wings are the same 

 colour as the pen feathers. The tail is of a dull indefinite 

 black colour, but the four outer feathers are yellow from the 

 root to about three-fourths of their entire length. The throat, 

 under part of neck, upper part of belly, and sides, are of 

 a much brighter green, and strongly impregnated with yellow. 



The lower part of the belly and the vent are of a dirty 

 greyish white ; the under tail coverts are yellowish green, 

 intermixed with slate-coloured feathers. The legs are brown ; 

 the thighs slate colour. The under wing coverts are dingy 

 white, margined with yellow. The forehead, cheeks, throat, 

 breast, and belly, are of a pleasing colour, as the green is 

 thoroughly surcharged and blended with a beautiful golden- 

 yellow, creating a rich radiance of colour over the entire 

 surface of these parts ; the roots of the upper mandible are 

 black, and a black spot or stripe, the entire width of the 

 eye, runs from the base of the upper mandible to the corner 

 of the eye ; the roots of the under mandible likewise have a 

 narrow border of black feathers. Over the head and cheeks 

 is a shading of dark grey, like the bloom on a peach or 

 plum. These birds, however, vary in the appearance of 

 their plumage according to their respective ages, and also in 

 size ; as they get older they grow larger, and their colours 

 become lighter and brighter, and show much more of the 

 yellow, and less of the dull shade of green. It takes three 

 moults before they obtain their most perfect appearance. 



Habits and Beeeding. — In the spring, the male bird utters 

 his notes as he is flying. The movements of his wings are 

 then rapid and vigorous, his flight being somewhat similar 

 to that of a swallow. When in search of a mate, he selects a 

 tree, and from this he will, at intervals, rise to a considerable 

 height, singing all the while, making rapid bounds, and closing 

 his wings entirely ; then he turns and descends in a similar 

 manner. This the bird continues to do at intervals day by day, 

 until he succeeds in obtaining a partner to share with him the 

 pleasures of connubial felicity. This bird loves to dwell in 

 a well-wooded locality, and is a frequent inhabitant of all 

 places where the willow grows. He also frequents gardens 

 and groves, thick hedgerows, and the sides of a river in close 

 proximity to a town or village. 



