CRIMSON-NECKED BULLFINCH. 
53 
of the propriety of our arrangement, and they must, therefore, place 
the two species, strictly according to nature, in one genus, and 
consider the present as a Fringilla; but, how unnatural will then 
be the situation of Fyrrhula vulgaris, and Fyrrhula enucleator! 
The inflated form of the bill, the curvature of both mandibles, 
very apparent in the superior one, as well as the compression of 
both at tip, are obvious characters, which distinguish the species 
of Fyrrhula from the Fringilla ?, in which both mandibles are 
nearly straight, and present a conic form on every side. 
Berries, and seeds which they extract from the pericarp, buds, 
and young shoots of different plants, constitute the food of the 
Bullfinches. They generally frequent forests and bushy places, 
building their nests on small trees, or low branches of large ones: 
the females lay four or five eggs. The greater number of the 
species moult twice a year; the sexes differ considerably in appear¬ 
ance. They reside in cold and temperate climates, with the excep¬ 
tion of a few species, that inhabit Africa and South America. 
The Crimson-necked Bullfinch is found in the district of country 
extending along the base of the Rocky Mountains, near the Ark- 
ansaw river, and has not been observed elsewhere. In the month 
of July, when our specimens were obtained, these birds occur in 
small scattered flocks, keeping mostly on the tops of the cotton¬ 
wood trees, on whose buds they partially feed. Their voice con¬ 
siderably resembles that of their relative, the Fringilla purpurea. 
VOL. I.-O 
