LESSER RED-POLL. 
123 
mixed with tufts of wool, and warmly lined with feathers. The eggs 
are usually four, white, sprinkled with specks of reddish. 
NOTE . 
Fringilla Linaria, Gmel. Si/st. i., p 917, 29. F. fiaoirostris, Id. p. 915, 27. — Lath. 
Ind. Orn. p. 438. No. 16, p. 45S, No. S3.— Le Cabard,BvFV. Ois.iv., p. 7(3. PL 
Enl. 485. — Bewick, i., p. 191 .—-Fauna Orcadensis, p. 64, 3.— Gros-bec Sizerin, 
Temm. Man. d' Orn., p. 383. 
Contrary to the usual practice of Wilson, he omitted to furnish a 
particular description of this species, accompanying its figure. But this 
supplementary notice would not have been considered necessary, if our 
author had not fallen into a mistake respecting the markings of the fe- 
male, and the young male; the former of which he describes as destitute 
of the crimso?i on the forehead ; and the latter not receiving that orna- 
ment till the succeeding spring. When Wilson procured his specimens, 
it was in the autumn, previously to their receiving their perfect winter 
dress ; and he was never afterwards aware of his error, owing to the 
circumstance of these birds seldom appearing in the neighborhood of 
Philadelphia. Considerable flocks of them, however, having visited us 
in the winter of 1813-14, we were enabled to procure several fine spe- 
cimens of both sexes, from the most perfect of which we took the fol- 
lowing description. - We will add, that having had the good fortune to 
observe a flock, consisting of nearly a hundred, within a few feet of 
them, as they ivere busily engaged in picking the seeds of some garden 
plants, we can with confidence assert that they all had the red patch on 
the crown ; but there were very few which had the red rump and 
breast ; the young males, it is probable, are not thus marked until the 
spring ; and the females are destitute of that ornament altogether. 
The Lesser Red-poll is five inches and a quarter in length, and eight 
inches and a half in breadth ; the bill is pale yellow, ridged above and 
below with dark horn color, the upper mandible projecting somewhat 
over the lower at the tip ; irides dark hazel ; the nostrils are covered 
with recumbent, hair-like feathers of drab color ; a line of brown ex- 
tends from the eyes, and encircles the base of the bill, forming in some 
specimens a patch below the chin ; the crown is ornamented with a 
pretty large spot of deep shining crimson ; the throat, breast and rump, 
stained with the same, but of a more delicate red ; the belly is of a very 
pale ash, or dull white ; the sides are streaked with dusky ; the whole up- 
per parts are brown or dusky, the plumage edged with yellowish white and 
pale ash, the latter most predominant near the rump ; wings and tail 
dusky, the latter is forked, and consists of twelve feathers edged with 
white ; the primaries are very slightly tipped and edged with white ; the 
secondaries more so ; the greater and lesser coverts are also tipped with 
