78 
CHAFFINCH. 
CERTHIA (Illiger.) — * Creeper, a g’eniis thus characterised. 
Bill long, or of mean length, more or less curved, triangular, compressed, 
slender, and sharp pointed. Tongue short. Nostrils at the base 
pierced horizontally, naked, and partly covered with an arched mem- 
brane. Legs with the feet having three toes before, and one behind, 
which last is strong and of some length ; the outer toe united at its 
base to the middle one. Tail wedge-shaped, composed of twelve 
stiff, sharp pointed, and deflected feathers. Wings having the first 
quill short, the second and third shorter than the fourth, which is the 
longest in the wing. It contains only one British species. 
The very miscellaneous genus Certliia of Gmelin and Latham, be- 
sides the above, is now distributed among’ Ccereha, Nectarinia^ Cli- 
inacteris, &c.* 
CERTHIAD^ (Vigors.) — * Birds of the Creeper kind.* 
CHACKER, CHACK, CHACKBIRD, and CHUCK.— Names 
for the Wheatear. 
CHAFFINCH (*Fringilla spiza, Rennie.) 
Fringllla ccelebs, Linn. Syst. 1. p. 318. — Gmel. Syst. 1. p. 901. sp. 5. — Lath. \nd. 
Orn. 1. p. 437. 12. — Eaii, Syn. p. 88. 16. A. — Will. p. 186. t. 45. f. 4. — Briss. 
3. p. 184. 36. — Le Pinson, Buff. Ois. 4. p. 109. t. 4.— J/>. pi. Enl. 54. f. 1, the 
male. — Gros-Bec Pinson, Temm. Man. d’Orn. 1. p. 357. — Gemeine Fink, Bechst. 
Naturg. Deut.3.p. 75. — Meyer, Tasschenb. Dent. l.p. 150. — Ib. Vbg. Dent. 1. 
f. 1. and 2. male and female in spring plumage. — Frisch, t. 1. f. 1.— Scheld Fink, 
Sepp, Nederl. Vdg. p. 141. — Chaffinch, Br. Zool. 1. No. 125. — Arct. Zool. 2. 
p. 381. F. — Will. fAngl.) p. 253. 45. — Albin, 1. t. 63. — Lath. Syn. 3. p. 259. 
10. — lb. Supp. p. 165. — Leaun’s Br. Birds, 2. t. 79. — TPa/c. Syn. t.217. — Pult. 
Cat. Dorset, p. 12. — Mont. Orn. Diet. 1. — Bewick's Br. Birds, p. 160. — Low's 
Faun. Oread, p. 12. — Shaw’s Zool. 9. p. 442. 65. fig. 1. — Selby, pi. 54. fig. 6. 7. 
p. 269. 
Promncial. — Spink. Beechfinch. Pink, Twink. Skelly. Shell- 
Apple. Horsefinch. Scobby. Shilfa. 
As the Linnsean name of Bachelor (ccelehs) appears to me very 
inappropriate, when applied to a bird so remarkable for the neatness of 
its nest and for domestic attachment, I have restored the name of 
spiza, given it by Aristotle in his Hist. Anim. 8. p. L* 
This bird is rather less than the sparrow. The bill is bluish ; irides 
hazel ; the forehead black ; crown of the head, back part, and sides of 
the neck, bluish ash-colour ; the cheeks, under side of the neck, and 
breast, dull pink ; back chestnut -brown ; rump greenish ; belly white, 
tinged with pink ; the bastard wing and coverts of the primary quills 
are black ; those of the secondary tipped with white ; the smaller 
coverts black and greyish, on which is a spot of white ; the quill- 
feathers dusky, slightly edged with greenish yellow on the outer webs, 
marked with white on both webs at the base ; tail dusky ; the exterior 
feather is obliquely marked with white, taking in the whole of the 
outer web, the next is tipped with white ; legs dusky. 
