218 MOUNTAIN FINCH.
yellowish white on its lower part, and oa the sides it is varied
with blackish spots and light brown. Hack on the upper part, rich
mottled grey and black, but the grey edges of the feathers exchanged for
rust-colour; on tin- lower part white.
The wings extend to the width of about ten inches and a half;
greater wing coverts, jet black, tipped with orange fawn-colour;
lesser wing coverts, rich orange fawn-colour, the feathers tipped
with white; primaries, black, some of them with narrow iight-coloured
outside edge-, forming an oblique bar when the wing is closed, and
with a white spot at the base; the first three wing feathers are
nearly equal in length and the longest in the wing, the third being
rather longer than the others, and the lour tlx feather is about an
eighth shorter than the third; secondaries, edged with orange fawn*
colour or reddish orange; tertiarics, black, broadly edged with orange
fawn-colour, or reddish orange. The larger under wing coverts have
a small tuft of elongated feathers, and the lesser under wing coverts
are bright yellow. Tail, black, the feathers edged witii half white,
the outer feather on each s i d e with a patch of dull white on the
inner web; the middle pair of feathers arc shorter by about, but
not quite, half an inch than the rest, making the tail forked; upper
tail coverts black. the leathers having grey borders; under tail
coverts, white, or yellowish white; legs, toes, and (daws, rather light
brown.
The female is said by some to be considerably, and by others only
slightly, loss in size than the male. Length, about six inches; in
the winter plumage there is over the eye a streak of brownish black;
it has le>s of the black on the crown of the head, which is therefore
more brown coloured, the centres of the feathers being brownish
black; and on the sides it is dull brownish grey, with two dark
lines dividing the sides of the neck from the nape. Xcck on the
back and sides, and nape, dull brownish grey, with two longitudinal
black bands behind; throat and breast, dull reddish buff
orange, the sides paler and unspotted: back, on the upper part,
blackish brown, and on the lower pari patched with greyish white,
the feathers margined with yellowish brown or grey, giving it an
elegant mottled appearance.
The wings extend to the width of about ten inches; their feathers
are marked as in the male, but the dark parts are blackish brown.
The tail has the two middle feathers grey. All the colours in the
female arc less pure than in the male, and clouded with dull brown.
The young arc described as resembling the adult female; the
black of the head, back, and wings being tinged with brown. In-
MOUNTAIN FINCH. 2 It)
dividuals have been met with either wholly white, or with patches
of that colour.
In the carefully compiled and valuable 'Account of the Birds
found in Norfolk,' by John Henry Gurncy, Esq., and William
Richard Fisher, Esq., there is an account and figure of a very
beautiful variety of the Mountain Finch, described as follows:—
With the exception of a brown patch on one or two feathers of one
side of (he tail, this specimen was entirely white; the greater part
of its plumage being also pervaded with an elegant tint of yellow,
which particularly spread itself on the sides of the head, and on the
edges of the quill feathers of the wings and tail, as well as on the
feathers under the wing. The colour of these latter, which is usually
yellow, was remarkably bright in this specimen, and extended over a
greater space than usual.