718 
L O X I A. 
this robe of black difappears in moulting, and gives place low, bigger than the hawfinch ; length' eight inches ; bill - 
to the natural colours ; but often it renews each time, and one inch, and yellow ; the head is crefted ; the whole 
remains for feveral years; fuch was the cafe with Re.au- plumage tine red ; the bafe of the bill, and wing-coverts, 
mur's, This would imply that the change of colour is more dull than the reft ; legs yellow ; toes long ; claws 
not the effeft of difeafe. Mr. White, in his Natural Hif- (harp and bent. Native of India. 
tory of Selburne in Hampfliire, relates an inftance of a 
cock bullfinch turning dingy, and afterwards black. 
The bullfinch breeds late in the fpring ; feldom lias 
young ones before the end of May, or beginning of June; 
the builds in an orchard, wood, or park, where there are 
plenty of trees, or on heaths; but her neft is not very com¬ 
mon to be found ; it is an ordinary mean fabric, made 
with feemingly little art; ftie lays four or five eggs, of a 
bluifh colour fpotted at the biggeft end with large dark- 
brown and faint-reddifh fpots. Thofe who wi(h to bring up 
thele birds fhould not take them from the neft too young; 
let them be well feathered firft, at leaft twelve or fourteen 
days old ; keep them warm and clean ; feed them every two 
hours, from morning until night, giving them little at a 
time ; their meat mult be rape-feed foaked in dean water 
eight or ten hours; then fcalded, ftrained, and bruifed, mixt 
w ith an equal quantity of white-bread foaked in fair water, 
boiled with a little milk to a thick confiltency; make but 
a little at a time, and let them have frefh every day, it be¬ 
ing apt to four in two days, and fuch meat will fpoil the 
birds. When they begin to feed themlelves, break them 
from this Toft meat as loon as you can ; then give them 
rape and.canary feed, the fame as you do the linnet, but 
more of the former than the latter. If at any time you 
perceive them out of order, put a blade of faffron in their 
water; and you may try them with the woodlark’s meat, 
or fine liemp-feed; but keep moftly to rape, w ith a lit¬ 
tle Canary-feed mixed with it. Often pipe, whittle, or 
talk, to them, to hi 1ft they are young, what they fhould learn; 
and they will foon take it ; for the bullfinch is by bird- 
fanciers fuppofed to excel all other fmall birds in the 
foftnefs of his tones and variety of his notes, except the 
3 innet. In domelticity, we fhould rather fay in captivity, 
his melody feems to be as great a folace to himfelf as a 
pleafure to his matter. By day, and even when the even¬ 
ing has called for the artificial light of candles, he purfues 
his melodious exertions; and,if there areany other birds in 
the apartment, wakes them gently to the pleating talk of 
tinging in concert with him. His notes are upon one of 
the low : eft keys of the gamut of birds. 
it. Loxia cardinalis, the cardinal grotbeak, or Virginia 
nightingale •. crefted ; red. Near eight inches in length : 
bill flout, and of a pale red colour; irides hazel; the 
head greatly crefted, the feathers rifing up to a point 
when ereft; round the bill, and on the throat, black ; the 
reft of the plumage fine red ; the quills and tail duller 
than the reft, and brovvnith within ; legs pale red. The 
female differs from the male, being moftly of a reddith 
brown. This fpecies is met with in feveral parts of North 
America, where it has attained the name of nightingale , 
having a remarkably fine fong. In the fpring and fum- 
mer it fits on the tops of the higheft trees, finging early 
in the morning, fo loud as almoft to pierce the ears ; is 
frequently kept in cages, in which it fings throughout 
the year. It is fond of maize and buck-wheat; and will 
get together great hoards of thefe, often as much as a 
buftiel, which it artfully covers with leaves and fmall 
twigs, leaving only a little hole for its entrance into the 
magazine ; it is aifo fond of bees. It appears the begin¬ 
ning of April in New York and the Jerfeys, and fre¬ 
quents the Magnolia fwamps during the fummer; in au¬ 
tumn departs towards Carolina. It is not gregarious, 
jcarcely ever more than three or four being met with to¬ 
gether. From their being familiar birds, attempts have 
been made to breed them in cages, but without fuccefs. 
12. Loxia Carlfoni, the Carlfpriian grofbeak : general 
colour of the plumage red ; chin black ; rump, tail, and 
legs, brown. Found in the iflands of the Indian Ocean. 
13. Loxia Indica, the Indian grofbeak; red, legs yel« 
14. Loxia Madagafcarienfis, the Madagafcar grofbeak. 
Length five inches and a third. Bill dufky ; through the 
eye a ftreak of black ; general colour of the plumage red, 
but the middle of each feather on the back is black ; 
quills and tail brown, margined with olive-green ; legs 
grey brown. The young birds at firft are olive, and do 
not arrive at the red colour but by degrees. It is called 
at Madagafcar, foudi lah& menx. It is alfo an inhabitant 
of India. 
15. Loxia Mexicana, the. Mexican grofbeak. Length 
fix inches and three quarters. The whole body is co¬ 
vered with feathers of a blood-red colour; upper tail- 
coverts blackifh, with a mixture of red ; quills and tail 
blackifh ; the wings reach the middle of the tail. Native 
of Mexico. 
16. Loxia Brafiliana, the Brafilian grofbeak. Length 
five inches and three quarters. Bill fhort, thick, and of 
a flefh-colour; head and chin red; beneath this a ring of 
white, not quite meeting on the fore part; back and 
wing-coverts brown; quills and tail black; the coverts 
and fecondaries have pale reddilh tips; end of the tail- 
white ; the bread, belly, and fides, reddifli white, marked 
with round fpots of white, encircled with black ; middle 
of the belly red ; rump duiky. Native of Brafil. 
17. Loxia Dominica, the Dominican grofbeak. Size of 
a lark. Upper mandible brown ; under pale flefh-colour j 
eyes bluifh ; the head, throat, andforerpart of the neck, 
deep red ; hind part of the neck blackfill, with a flight 
mixture of white; wing-coverts, back, rump, upper tail- 
coverts, and fcapulars, grey mixed with a few black fpots j 
fides of the neck, bread, belly, thighs, and vent, whitifh 5 
quills black, edged with white; tail black; legs cinereous. 
Of this fpecies there are two other varieties, one of them 
crefted, and made a feparate fpecies by Dr. Turtor.. 
They all inhabit Brafil. 
18. Loxia Sibirica, the Siberian grofbeak. Size of a lin¬ 
net, but fuller of feathers. Bill a trifle longer t! an in 
tlie bullfinch; round the bafe the feathers are of a deep 
purple; head and back of a deep rofe-colour, marked 
with brown, as in the linnet; the under parts paler, and 
not fpotted ; the feathers about the head have the tips of 
a polifhed white, appearing very vivid in home lights j 
bafe of the wings white; coverts the fame, with black 
tips, forming a double oblique baron the wings; quill* 
edged with white; tail longer than the body; the outer 
feathers white ; the others black, with pale margins. 
The female ,and young birds are the colour of a linnet, 
with a tinge of red on the belly and rump. This inhabits 
the bufhy fhrubs about the rivers and torrents of the 
fouthei n mountains of Siberia, and particularly about the 
Lake Baikal; is fond of the feeds of the mugworts ; is a 
reftlefs bird, and in winter unites into fmall flocks, and 
keeps in the warmer fituations among the ilmibs. 
19. Loxia Virginica, the Virginian grofbeak : bill yel¬ 
low ; head red ; nape olive brown ; hind part of the neck, 
andi under parts, of a fine red ; belly yellow ; wings, lower 
part of the back, and tail, olive, except the tW'o middle 
feathers of the laft, which are red. Native of Virginia. 
20. Loxia.crfitata, the crefted grofbeak. A large fpe¬ 
cies ; general colour whitifh ; forehead crefted ; the creft, 
breaft, and. rump, red ; of the female white ; tail cine¬ 
reous ; the two middle feathers twice as long as the reft j 
legs red. Native of Ethiopia.. 
21. Loxia, erythrocephala, the paradife grofbeak. 
Length nearly fix inches. Bill fl.efh-colotir; head and 
chin red ; hind part of the neck, back, rump, and wing- 
coverts, bluifh afh-colour; upper tail coverts margined 
with grey ; the under parts white, marbled w ith curved 
fpots of black on the fides 3 the wing-coverts ripped with. 
white ? 
