204 PASSERINE. CHLOROSPIZA. PASSER. 
line straight, the back and sides convex, the edges inflected ; 
the gape-line slightly arched. Mouth rather narrow ; tongue 
narrow, pointed, slightly bifid. Digestive organs as in the 
other genera. Head large ; neck short ; body moderate. 
Legs short ; tarsus compressed, with seven scutella ; toes mo- 
derate. Plumage blended ; wings of moderate length, the 
outer three quills almost equal ; tail rather short, emarginate. 
129. Chlorospiza Chloris. Greenfinch. 
Male with the upper parts and breast yellowish-greenj the 
head tinged with grey ; the edges of the wing, outer webs of 
alula, and part of outer webs of primary quills, with the basal 
part of the tail-feathers, yellow. Female with the upper 
parts greenish-brown, the breast greyish-brown, the wings and 
tail marked with yellow as in the male, but to a less extent. 
Young similar to the female, with faint brown streaks on the 
back. 
Male, 6|, lOj, 3/^, |, Female, 6, 10. 
The Greenfinch is generally dispersed, and permanently re- 
sident. Its notes scarcely deserve the name of song, and one 
of them is easily recognised by its peculiar screechy sound. 
The nest is constructed of fibrous roots, twigs, and straws, 
lined with fibres, moss, and hair. The eggs, from four to six, 
are nearly eleven- twelfths long, eight in breadth, bluish-white, 
spotted -with purplish-grey, blackish-brown, and reddish- 
bro^vn, with some dusky streaks. Two broods are generally 
reared. In autumn Greenfinches collect into large flocks, 
which, until spring, search the stubble-fields and corn-yards, 
often in company with Yellow Buntings and Linnets. 
Green Linnet. Green Grosbeak. 
Loxia Chloris, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. 304. — Fringilla Chloris, 
Temm. Man. d^Ornith. i. 346. — Linaria Chloris, Green Lin- 
net, or Greenfinch, MacGillivray, Brit. Birds, i. 365. 
GENUS LXV. PASSER. SPARROW. 
Bill shortish, straight, conical, subpentagonal and nearly 
as broad as high at the base ; upper mandible with the dor- 
sal line declinate and slightly arched, the ridge narrow but 
obtuse, the sides much rounded, the edges inflected, but 
overlapping, with an obsolete notch or slight sinus close to 
the acute tip ; lower mandible somewhat smaller, with the 
