288 
LESSER REDPOLE. 
is of a more purple hue, and the whole of the chin, 
throat, cheeks, and breast, are of a uniform pale 
reddish brown, little interrupted by the dark 
centres of the feathers appearing, the centre of 
the vent and under tail coverts only being pure 
white. In the female, at this season, the colouring 
of the rump deepens, and the lower parts are 
nearly entirely of pale yellowish brown. 
The Lesser Redpole, Linaria minor, Ray. 
— Linaria minor, Ray , Selby. — Fringilla linaria, 
Linn Linota linaria, Bonap. Yarrell. — Lesser 
Redpole, or Stone Linnet , of British authors . — 
The distribution of this species in the British 
Islands is very similar to that of the last ; in the 
southern Highlands of Scotland it is, perhaps, 
more generally spread, but its breeding localities 
in England depend on some peculiar locality, 
During winter it is not uncommon in flocks 
in the south or in the Lowlands of Scotland ; 
it is frequently detected feeding on the seeds 
of the birch and alder, and we have once or twice 
seen it in company with the Siskin feeding on 
the beech mast. In the same years which we 
mentioned as remarkable for the appearance of 
flocks of the former, this species was observed to 
be more than ordinarily numerous. The nest 
where we have seen it has been built on some 
bush or young tree, not exceeding an easy reach 
with the hand from the ground, and frequently 
much lower; it is more carefully and neatly con- 
