166 
VERTEBRATA. 
the Lintie or Lintwhite, the last two being terms applied to it in Scotland more particularly ; in 
the poetry of Burns, and other sweet singers of the north, these names frequently occur : 
" I wadna gie the Zmtie's sang 
Sae merry on the broomy lea, 
For a' the notes that erer rang 
Prom a' the harps o' minstrelsie. 
Mair dear to me, where bush or breer 
Amang the pathless heather grows, 
The lAntie's wild sweet note to hear, 
As on the ev'nin' breeze it flows." 
The Linnet is a permanent inhabitant of Middle and Southern Europe, frequenting the sea-shore 
in mid-winter. 
The Mealy Redpole, or Red-Poll, L.canescens^h five and a quarter inches long; it has a mixture 
of dark and light brown above ; beneath pale brownish-white, streaked with brown ; crown crimson ; 
Yarrell says it feeds on the seeds of forest trees, and De Kay on berries ; it is distributed through- 
out the northern parts of Europe, Asia, and America ; found, though rarely, in England, where it 
is sometimes called Stone-Red'pole. It appears occasionally in the United States as far south as 
New York and New Jersey. 
The Lesser Redpole, L. linaria, is four and a quarter inches long ; a mixture of dark and 
light brown above ; breast red ; under parts brownish-white ; feeds on the buds of trees. It is a 
hardy northern species, found in both continents, inhabiting even Lapland, Greenland, and Spitz- 
bergen, and is a permanent resident of the Fur Countries. In the winter, numbers of them migrate 
southward, proceeding in the United States as far as Pennsylvania, at this time moving in consid- 
erable flocks ; in Europe it proceeds south as far as Rome and Sicily. This and the preceding- 
are arranged by Audubon and De Kay under the generic name of Linaria. 
The Mountain Linnet, L. montium, is five inches long, the tail being of unusual length ; dark 
and light brown above ; dull brownish-white beneath ; feeds on small seeds ; inhabits Europe 
generally ; moves from the northern regions in winter to the south in flocks with sparrows and 
snow-buntings. It frequently repeats the note twite, twite, whence this word is one of its popular 
English names. 
THE COMMON GOLDFINCH OF EUEOPE, 
THE PINCHES. 
Genus CARDUELIS : Carduelis. — This includes the Common Goldfinch or Thistle-Finch 
of Europe — Chardonneret of the French — C. elegans, five inches long; top of the head black; 
above brown ; beneath white. It has a gay plumage, Hvely habits, and an agreeable song, and is 
a general cage favorite ; it frequents gardens ; builds its nest in a thick bush ; eggs four to five. 
