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point brown; the iris dark-brown; the feet, eight lines high, 
are black. There are some very striking varieties produced 
by the season and age in the plumage of the male, which are 
not observed in the female, and these have caused great con¬ 
fusion in works on birds. 
A male three years old or less, is distinguished in spring by 
the following colors, and by the name of 44 red pole: ”—The 
forehead is blood-red, the rest of the head reddish ash-colored, 
the top rather spotted with black; the cheek, sides of the neck, 
and the circle round the eyes, have a reddish-white tint; the 
feathers of the back are chestnut, with the edges lighter; the 
upper tail coverts are black, edged with reddish-white; the 
throat and under part of the neck are yellowish-white, with 
some dashes of reddish-grey: the sides of the breast are 
THE LINNET, 
blood-red, ecged with reddish-white; the sides of the belly are 
pale rust-colored; the rest of the under part of the body is 
reddish-white; the greater wing coverts are black, bordered 
with reddish-white; the others are rusty-brown with a lighter 
border. The quill feathers are black, tipped with white; the 
first are edged with white nearly to the point; the narrow 
beard forms a parallel white streak to the quill feathers; the 
tail is black and forked; the four outer feathers on both sides 
have a broad white border; that of the two middle feathers is 
narrower, and reddish-white. 
After moulting, in autumn, little red is seen on the forehead, 
because the feathers become colored from the bottom to the top; 
the breast has not yet acquired its red tint, for the white border 
is still too wide; but when winter comes, its colors appear. 
