83 
THE FI KG II. TII F. FLYCATCHERS'. 
top of the head black, the upper parts of the body yellowish 
olive, and the under parts greyish yellow. It is a song-bird, 
but of inferior note. 
The Linnet is too well known to require a description. 
Of the Red-pole, or lled-headed Linnet there are two spe- 
cies, the greater and the less, but both are less than the com- 
mon linnet. They are both distinguished by a blood-coloured 
spot on the head, and by the breast being tinged with the 
same colour ; the breast of the females is, however, yellow, 
whence it is a common fraud in the shops to paint their 
breasts red, in order to pass them off for males. The Moun- 
tain Linnet, or twit, includes also two varieties, the one the 
s >ze of the common linnet, the other much smaller. The co- 
lour of the plumage is in general brownish-red, like the com- 
mon linnets, but the rump is crimson, scarlet, or orange. 
They are common in England, and are easily tamed; but 
there is no harmony in their note. 
This genus comprehends a great variety of foreign birds, 
eminent for their beautiful plumage, and some for the music 
of their song : among these, the best known to Europeans, 
is the Canary-bird, which, indeed, is now become so com- 
mon, and has continued so long in a domestic state, that its 
native habits, as well as its native country, seem almost for- 
gotten. Though, by the name it appears that these birds 
came originally from the Canary Islands, yet we have them 
only from Germany, where they are bred up in great num- 
bers, and sold into different parts of Europe. 
. In its native islands, a region equally noted for the beauty of 
landscapes and the harmony of its groves, the canary-bird 
18 of a dusl;y grey colour, and so different from those usually 
s een in Europe, that some have even doubted whether it be 
of the same species. With us, they have that variety of co- 
louring usual in all domestic fowls ; some white, some mot- 
’•lod, some beautifully shaded with green ; but they are more 
esteemed for their note than their beauty, having a high, 
piercing pipe, as indeed all those of the finch tribe have, con- 
tinuing for some time in one breath without intermission, then 
raising it higher and higher by degrees, with great variety. 
The Flycatchers are with us summer birds only, and 
ake their name from feeding upon insects. The Spotted 
flycatcher, however, eats fruit, and is, on that account, called 
! n K «mt, the cherry-sucker, it is, in general, of a mouse-co- 
°. UI ) the head spotted with black, and the wings and tail 
e,j ged with white. The pied flycatcher is less than a hedge- 
narrow, and is known by a white spot on the forehead. 
