PASSERINJE. CARDUELIS. 
197 
straight, or slightly concaye, the ridge narrowed toward the 
end ; gape-line nearly straight. Mouth narrow ; both man- 
dibles deeply concave within ; tongue sagittate, subulate, in- 
volute, the tip terminated by a pencil of short bristles ; oeso- 
phagus dilated into a crop ; proventriculus bulbiform ; sto- 
mach roundish, compressed, with very strong, lateral muscles, 
radiated tendons, and dense, longitudinally rugous epithe- 
lium ; intestine of moderate length, rather wide ; coeca very 
small, cylindrical. Nostrils circular, basal, concealed by the 
reflected feathers. Eyes moderate. Ear large. Head ra- 
ther small, oblong ; neck short ; body rather slender. Legs 
short ; tarsus very short, compressed, with seven scutella ; 
toes slender, compressed ; claws long, slender, arched, com- 
pressed, laterally grooved, acute. Plumage soft and blended ; 
wing rather broad ; the outer three quills nearly equal, but 
the second longest ; tail shortish, eniarginate. 
The Thistle-finches are distinguished from the Linnets 
chiefly by having the bill more attenuated toward the end. 
They usually seek their food on trees or tall herbaceous 
plants, especially the Compositse. Two species occur in Bri- 
tain. 
122. Carduelis elegans. Red-fronted Thistle-finch, 
OR Goldfinch. 
Bill whitish, with the tip blackish-brown ; feathers mar- 
gining the bill all round, loral space, top of the head, occiput, 
and semicircular band on the upper part of the hind neck, 
black ; cheeks white ; forehead and throat crimson ; hind neck 
and back umber-brown, rump ochre-yellow ; wings black, the 
secondary coverts and basal half of the outer webs of the 
quills, except the first, pure yellow, the tips white ; tail black, 
tipped with white ; lower parts white, the sides brown. Fe- 
male similar, with the tints less pure. Young with the co- 
lours fainter. 
Male, 5, 9, y'^. Female, 4j§, 8yf. 
This elegantly formed and beautifully coloured bird is 
generally distributed in Britain. In autumn it feeds chiefly 
on the seeds of thistles and other Compositse ; in winter on 
seeds of various kinds, for which it searches the fields, some- 
times in company with Linnets. Its flight is rapid, all its 
actions lively, its song sweet and varied. It usually nestles 
on trees, in gardens, or plantations, forming a very neat nest 
