266 
FEINGILLIDjE. 
received specimens from various parts of India 
and Africa. 
In the male, the head is adorned with a full 
crest of long, loose, silky feathers, which, with 
the neck, chin, throat, and upper part of the back, 
are deep black, having purple and green reflec- 
tions. The middle part of the back, rump, breast, 
and lower parts, are of a delicate rose red. In a 
young bird from India, there is no indication of 
a crest. The upper parts are of a dull brown, 
darker where the black occurs. The under parts 
dull white, clearer in the centre of the belly. 
FRINGILLIDJ3. 
Our next group is that of the Fringillidce, or 
Finches, composed of birds possessing great 
perfection of form, or a very considerable deve- 
lopment of all the members ; as a group they are 
distributed in all countries, are abundant, and 
often appear in large flocks. They are admired 
for their clean appearance and docile manners, 
and many are in request, and are kept in confine- 
ment on account of their song. They feed chiefly 
on grains and seeds, or on the kernels of stone 
fruits, for the purpose of breaking which the 
bill is in some genera constructed of immense 
strength. During the season of incubation, the 
food is insects, or their larvaj ; and the number 
of this race of beings now destroyed is almost 
incredible. In the first sub-family, the Cocco- 
thraustiruE, we see the development of the bill 
