ness), only accidentally at very long intervals and in the
most severe winters. In the north of France its appearance
is more frequent, hut is still characterized by great irregularity,
and probably the same may he said of it in Belgium
and Holland. In Denmark it is often very common from
November to March.
In summer the bill of the cock is of a dark brownish horn-
colour, the lower mandible tinged with yellow at the base:
the irides dusky brown: the feathers covering the nostrils
brown; lores and ear-coverts blackish-brown, mixed with
grey on the latter ; forehead to behind the eyes glossy blood-
red ; rest of the head, nape, mantle and upper wing-coverts
blackish-brown, mottled in some places, especially on the
neck, by the whitish edges of the feathers ; both middle and
greater wing-coverts tipped with greyish-white, forming two
conspicuous light bars of unequal length on the wing ; quills,
both of wings and tail, dusky, narrowly bordered with
greyish-white; lower part of the back, rump and upper tail-
coverts blackish-brown, bordered with greyish-white, and
tinged with crimson on the la st; chin black; throat, chest
and sides of the breast glossy rose-pink, mingled with white,
and more or less spotted and streaked with brownish-black;
middle of the breast, belly and lower tail-coverts dull white;
flanks greyish-white streaked with dusky brown : legs and
toes brown; claws blackish-brown.
After the autumnal moult and throughout the winter the
bill is yellow, with the point dusky : the feathers covering
the nostrils and those on the head immediately above the
bill are light yellowish-grey, the red cap not extending
quite so far forward; all the rest of the feathers, except the
quills, more or less thickly bordered with long fringes of a
light yellowish-grey on the head, neck and mantle, but
on the lower part of the back, rump and belly of a nearly
pure white. These long fringes continue till past midwinter,
and, as already stated, in examples from high northern
localities almost entirely hide the darker parts of the feathers.
As spring advances they are slowly shed, and the crimson
tint of the rump and breast gradually appears, but the birds
have generally done breeding before this attains its greatest
intensity.
The whole length is five inches or a little more ; from the
carpal joint to the tip of the wing, two inches and three-
quarters ; the fourth primary is one-sixth of an inch longer
than the fifth ; the tail, which is decidedly forked, is about
two inches and a quarter. The bill, as above stated, varies
very considerably in size.
The hen is perceptibly smaller in all her dimensions. In
summer her plumage greatly resembles that of the cock at
the same season, but, except on the head, there is no red,
and the upper parts are generally darker, while the lower are
more mottled and streaked. In winter there is comparatively
little difference in the appearance of the two sexes.
The nestling has the bill brown : the lores blackish ; the
head and nape blackish-brown, each feather bordered with
greyish-buff; mantle the same, but the feathers edged with
light reddish-brown; lower part of the back and rump like
the head, but in some examples slightly tinged with buff and
the grey verges upon dull white ; the wings are as in the
adult, but the feathers are tipped with pale reddish-brown
instead of greyish-white; the tail-quills are also narrowly
bordered with dull buff; the chin just shows an indication
of the dark patch of the adult; the sides of the neck, the
throat and breast are dull greyish-buff, each feather tipped
with dark brown; belly, flanks and lower tail-coverts much
the same but the warmer tint by degrees gives way to dull
white, and the dark tips are elongated into the form of ill-
defined streaks : the legs and toes are of a dull flesh-colour;
claws pale brown.
A few words must be added on the still larger form of
Redpoll, Linota hornemanni, already mentioned. Holboll
states that examples of it were sent by him in 1824 from
Greenland to Temminck, who at once recognized its distinctness,*
but afterwards erroneously referred it to the IAnaria
* In this determination lie is said to Lave been assisted by Friedrich Boie
who from his Norwegian experience was of course familiar with the true Linota
linaria.