THE GOLDFINCH. 
j and the pretty mottled finch from Angola. ISTot one of these, i 
j however, is equal, either in plnmage or song, to onr own noble- 
! looking British-born goldfinch. 
Moreover, on acconnt of his disposition, he is a song-bird to 
| be desired before any other. The canary will have fits of j 
| moodiness, lasting sometimes for weeks ; the chaffinch fits of j 
j passion, in the midst of which he won’t stand nice about snap- 
ping at your hand ; even the gentle and patient linnet is some- I 
| times moved to fits of petulance and ill-temper; but the goldfinch 
I is always the same, — always sprightly, cheerful, and even- 
j tempered. And this is the more to be commended because 
j there is no song-bird whose sagacity, or instinct, or whatever 
you may choose to term it, so nearly approaches reason ; and 
it should be borne in mind, that from “ those to whom much 
is given,” much is often in vain “ expected.” 
The goldfinch is so well known that a minute description 
will be unnecessary ; still, as it is very possible to mistake the 
female for the male bird, it may be as well to point out the 
| difference. 
In the male bird, the front of the head is blood red, and the j 
same colour (with an intervening ring of black) surrounds the ! 
stump of the beak. The cheeks and front of the throat are 
white, while the back of the neck — indeed, the whole back — is of 
a ruddy brown. The pinion feathers are jet black, and are 
tipped with white. If the bird is old, this white tip, however,, 
will nearly have faded off. There is a golden stripe along each 
pinion. The tail is slightly forked and black. 
The female is not so large as the male, but as that is a j 
matter of comparison (a thing not always allowed by a bird- 
dealer), I may as well tell you that the average length of a I 
male goldfinch, from the tip of his tail to the base of his beak, J 
is five inches and a half. Probably you will find the female 
as a rule, never more than five inches. Then she is- j 
not so vividly red about the beak as her mate, nor is the black j 
line that divides the red poll from the red beak so intense. The ■ 
white of her cheeks is intermixed with brown, and altogether 
she is not generally so bright and sparkling — especially, she 
has not such bold, bright eyes. 
Two species of goldfinch are recognised by the bird-fancier, 
but in this he is in error. He will tell you that the larger 
sort is the tvood goldfinch, and the smaller sort the garden 
goldfinch. How the case is this : they are all of a family, and 
the difference in size is simply a question of much or little 
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