has been observed near Uleaborg and may perhaps breed
there. In autumn however it is found abundantly throughout
the middle and southern parts of all these countries as
well as in Denmark, and occasionally winters there if the
weather be not too severe. Further eastward its boundaries
at no season of the year can be confidently laid down. It
may be presumed to breed in some parts of Russia since it
has been several times obtained near Archangel and it
occurs, though rarely, in winter in the southern Governments.
There is no authority for its appearance in Siberia, but
Messrs. Dickson and Ross include it as observed in flocks in
autumn at Erzeroom, and Dr. Severzov gives it as being
found in winter in Turkestan, but in both cases the nearly-
allied Linota brevirostris has most likely been mistaken for
it. Except as above stated it nowhere breeds in Europe.
On the southern shores of the Baltic it arrives abundantly
in autumn and, if the season be mild, will winter in North
Germany, but if otherwise it passes further on, sometimes
appearing in Galizia, Bohemia, Austria, Switzerland and
Upper Italy. It comes to Holland and Belgium every
autumn in numerous bands, which pass on to Picardy and
Normandy: some stray even further south, but the bird is
rarer about Paris, and only occasionally reaches Provence and
Savoy. It has not been heard of in Portugal, but has been
obtained in the south of Spain—Murcia and Andalusia.
The bill in summer is of a pale yellowish flesh-colour:
the irides hazel: the lores dusky; the feathers immediately
above the bill, and above and below the lores and eyes, are
light reddish-ochreous; the rest of the head, ear-coverts, and
upper parts generally, including the upper tail-coverts but
excepting the rump, dark brown, edged with light ochreous;
the tertials and wing-coverts are likewise tipped with the
same, and the latter thus exhibit two bars across the wing;
primaries and secondaries very dark brown, five of the
former having the outer web narrowly edged with white; the
rump rich purplish-red, in some examples almost scarlet;
the tail dark brown, the four middle and the outer pairs
being narrowly edged on the outer web with greyish-buff,
and the remaining three pairs with white, while all have the
inner web more or less margined with greyish-white; the chin
and throat are of a rich ochreous, which becomes paler on
the breast and flanks, where it is mottled with ill-defined
streaks of brown, and nearly white on the belly and under
tail-coverts, the vent being tinged with brown: legs, toes
and claws, very dark brown.
The red on the rump is in winter confined to the middle
of the feathers, and at that season the bill is of a greyish-
yellow, while the longer fringes of the feathers above give
the bird generally a lighter and more mottled appearance.
The whole length is five inches and a quarter : from the
carpal joint to the tip of the wing, three inches; the third
primary is generally the longest but herein there is some individual
variation, the second, third and fourth being sometimes
equal, while the first is so small as to be easily overlooked.
The female wants the red colour on the rump, and is also
lighter in colour above ; the bill, less decidedly yellow at the
base, is dusky brown at the tip.
Young birds have the bill pale greyish-brown and the
feet light brown, otherwise they generally resemble the adult
females, though their darker markings are lighter in colour
and the white on the wings is less extensive.*
# The removal of the last four birds from the genus Fringilla has been so
' commonly approved that nothing need be said on that score, but the term which
should be used for the genus so as to include all of them requires some explanation.
Linaria has been employed by many writers, and so far as zoology is
concerned it has priority; but, having been preoccupied in botany, since 1789,
by no less an authority than Jussieu, it was disallowed. Before however this
forestalling of the name had been recognized, Brehm proposed (Isis, 1828,
p 1277) to separate the Redpolls from the Linnets, retaining Linaria for t e
former and calling the latter Cannabina. If we were to follow him in keeping
this distinction, Cannabina should certainly be retained in the restricted sense ;
but, as already seated, it is not intented here to alter the genera of Fringillidce
before adopted in this work, and that word, having been first applied with a
distinctive meaning, cannot properly be used in one that comprehends the two
groups. We accordingly come next to Linota under which the inventor designedly
embraced both. In the Redpolls it may be observed that the crimson
of the crown is permanent throughout the year, and the occipital feathers are
erectile. In the Linnets the former is either wanting or usually assumed only
for a season, and the latter lie smooth. The generic term JEgiothus^ is now
commonly employed for the Redpolls when ranked as distinct from the Linnets.