CAGE AND S/XGING BliiDS.. 
109 
THE MEALY AND MOUNTAIN LINNETS. 
The former of these is a very beautiful and very rare 
bird in England. The colour of its plumage is chiefly gray, 
delicately marked and shaded with yellowish brown, with a 
faint rosy flush on the fore part of the neck, breast, and 
rump, and a bright crimson patch on the forehead 5 we have 
never seen it as a cage bird, nor does Bechstein speak of it 
as such. The next species is considered by this author as 
but a variety of the common linnet, which, when the latter 
is in its plain brown plumage, it very closely resembles. 
British naturalists, however, have shown that it is specifically 
distinct from, although very closely allied to, that bird. 
Bird-catchers say, that they can always tell whether there 
are any mountain linnets in a flock by the peculiar cry, 
twite! twite! by which name the bird is sometimes called. 
It does not appear that they are very successful in capturing 
the bird, for it is never seen either in the shop of the dealer, 
or the cage, or aviary, of the private bird-fancier. We 
know of no reason why both these species should not be 
domesticated, and do not doubt but they might; their treat- 
ment should be the same as that prescribed for the other 
linnets. 
GROSBEAKS. 
The grosbeaks are closely allied to the finches, as w^ell as 
to the crossbills; most of those known as cage birds, are 
foreign species, and rare in this country ; indeed, the only 
native bird amongst them is 
THE PINE GROSBEAK, 
Sometimes called the greater bullfinch, and sometimes the 
hawfinch — the latter name, however, belongs to another 
species, which we have already described. "With the excep- 
tion of the peculiar construction of the beak, this bird is 
almost identical in form, colour, and habits, with those just 
treated of ; true, it is larger, and the head and bill are more 
of the bullfinch make : the white margins to the wing fea- 
thers, too, are distinctive, reminding one of the American 
crossbill, of which a few specimens have been obtained in 
this country: Bechstein describes this bird as havmg an 
