FRINGILLA.
Bill straight and pointed; tail forked ; cup nest in trees or bushes ; eggs bluish or brownish ground colour, dark spotted.
Fringilla ccelebs ccelebs L. CHAFFINCH. Fr. Pinson ; Ger. Buchfink ; Ital. Fringuello ; Swed. Bofink.
Crown and hind neck slaty blue, back chestnut brown, rump and upper tail coverts yellowish green, median wing coverts and tips of greater white or yellowish white, margins of secondaries yellow ; beneath, face, throat, and underparts reddish brown with vinous tinge, outer tail feathers mostly white. Bill (winter) pale horn with dark tip, (summer) leaden blue, paler below, with dark tip. Legs and feet pale brown. Wing 82-9o, 9 76-84. Tarsus 17-19. Bill 9-1o. 9 olive brown, rump and upper tail coverts yellowish green ; beneath greyish brown. Young like 9.
from N. Cape south to Mediterranean, in Russia south to about Partial migrant ; occurs in winter Sicily, Malta, Corsica, Sardinia, and N. Africa (Morocco to Egypt).
F. ccelebs tyrrhenica Scbiebel. Upper parts darker, dark brown on wings replaced by deep black. Resirkn F. ccelebs spodiogenys Bonaparte. adult. Forehead black, crown, face, hind neck and part of scapulars pale slaty blue, hack and rump green ; beneath pale vinous buff, margins of wing coverts and quills pure white, flanks slate. Wing 93-96 (H.) 9 as typical 9, but paler.
Resident. —Tunisia.
F. ccelebs africana Levaillant. cs Crown darker slate and less white on inner secondaries than in " spodiog,enys" ; green on back darker. Wing 91-94 (H.).
F. ccelebs koenigi Rothschild and Hartert. much darker above than "spodiogenys" ; still less white on secondaries, of feather only. Wing 85-90.5.
Resident.— Morocco.
F. ccelebs maderensis Sharpe. 8' Crown and nape dark slate, upper parts green with slaty tinge on middle back ; abdomen more vinous than in "tintillon." Resident.— Madeira.
F. ccelebs tintillon Webb, Berthelot, and Moquin-Tandon.
adult. Upper parts black, rump and upper tail coverts green ; beneath, face, throat, and breast reddish buff, abdomen whiter with slight vinous tinge.
Islands (Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Gomera).
F. ccelebs moreleti Pucheran. Nearest to "maderensis," difficult to differentiate but rather less dark slate on back, and very little white on outer tail feathers.
F. ccelebs palmm Tristram. most resembles " tintillon " but rump as well as back dark slate, throat only buff, remainder of underparts white with vinous tinge. (Canary Islands).
F. ccelebs ombriosa Hartert. Differs from "paImm," rump mixed green and slate, and buff on throat descending to chest. Resident—Hierro (Canary Islands) Fringilla teydea teydea Webb, Berthelot, and Moquin-Tandon.
8 Slaty blue, without perceptible black frontal band ; wings black with slaty margins to coverts and quills ; abdomen whitish. Wing 8 103-107. Tarsus 22. Bill 13-14. y browner, smaller. Young like y.
Resident—Tenerife (Canary Islands).
F. teydea polatzeki Hartert. Has a black frontal band ; tips of wing coverts pure white. Wing 8' 96-99. Resident.—Gran Canaria (Canary Islands).
Fringilla montifringilla L. BRAMBLING. Fr. Pinson de Ardennes ; Ger. Bergfink ; Swed. Bergfink.
summer. Crown, face, sides of and hind neck and back black, rump and upper tail coverts white ; throat, breast, scapulars, and tips of some coverts bright orange rufous ; beneath white. Bill blue black. Legs and feet reddish brown. Wing, 6 89-95, 9 Tarsus 1S-207 Bill to-t I. In winter, black is margined rufous, flanks heavily spotted black, and bill yellow with black tip. 9 Above duller, browner, with dark centres, no black on head and back, sides of neck grey ; beneath paler.
Breeds.—Norway, Sweden, Finland, N. Russia, east to Urals and south to Ufa Govt. ; also across Asia to Kaintschatka. Migrates ; in winter to S. and C. Europe, Britain, Mediterranean Isles, N.W. Africa (fairly common), Egypt (rare).
Has bred in Scotland and said to have bred in Germany.