194 
PASSEEINiE. FRINGILLA. 
lateral muscles, radiated tendons, and dense rugous epi- 
thelium ; intestine of moderate length and width ; coeca 
small, cylindrical, adnate. Eyes of moderate size, eye- 
lids feathered. Nostrils nearly circular, basal, in the fore 
part of the nasal depression, which is short and broad. 
Aperture of ear large, elliptical. Legs short ; tarsus com- 
pressed, with about seven anterior scutella, thin-edged 
behind, with two longitudinal plates ; toes slender, com- 
pressed, the second and fourth shortest and equal, first 
stouter, third and fourth united at the base ; claws rather 
long, slender, arcuate, compressed, laterally grooved, acute. 
Plumage soft and blended ; wings of moderate length, 
with seventeen quills, the three outer longest ; tail mode- 
rate, of twelve feathers, of which the lateral are slightly 
bent outwards. ; 
The Passerinse, like the Emberizinse, are for the most ; 
part granivorous ; but they also eat soft fruits, leaves of 
plants, and insects. They are active and lively, in win- j 
ter generally gregarious ; have a strong, rapid, and un- j 
dulated flight ; glide among the branches with ease, on : 
the ground always move by short leaps ; frequent the open ! 
fields in search of food, retreating to trees and bushes i 
when disturbed, and settling there at night. They form 
an elaborate nest, and lay from four to eight spotted eggs, t 
Of these birds, which for the most part are numerous and j 
generally distributed over the country, we have eighteen j 
species. , 
GENUS LX. FRINGILLA. FINCH. | 
Bill shortish, straight, direct, conical, acute ; upper man- 
dible with the dorsal line declinate and straight to near the 
end, when it becomes a little convex, the ridge broad and 
convex, the sides rounded, the edges inflected but overlap- 
ping, with an obsolete notch or sinus close to the tip ; lower 
mandible with the angle short, broad, and rounded, the dor- 
sal line very slightly convex, the ridge broad, the sides 
