In Madrid, in June, 1833, 99 bulls were killed in the course of a single week. Bull fighters are regarded as the lowest class in Spain. They are very ignorant and super stitious; and those who are killed on the spot and die without confession, are denied burial rites.
Pyrrhula vulgaris, a bird of the great family of fringillidcs (q.v.), a little larger than the common linnet, and of a genus closely allied to the grossbeaks and crossbills. The genus is particularly characterized by the short, thick, rounded bill, of which the sides are inflated and bulging, and the tip of the upper mandible overhangs that of the lower one. The bull-finch is a bird of very soft and dense plumage, of a delicate bluish-gray color above, the under parts of a bright tile-red, the crown of the head and the beak jet black, which color also appears in the greater wing and tail coverts, in the quills, and in the tail-feathers; the wings are crossed by a conspicuous white bar. The colors of the female are less bright than those of the male. The tail of the bull-finch is almost even This bird is not unfrequent in England, Ireland, and the a. of Scot land; and is found in most parts of Europe, from the s. of Norway to the Mediter ranean, extending eastward throughout Asia, even to Japan. It frequents woods and gardens, builds its nest in trees or bushes a few feet from the ground, feeds chiefly on seeds and berries in winter, and in spring is excessively destructive to the buds of fruit trees in those localities in which it is abundant, selecting the flower-buds, and appar ently finding them the most palatable of all food. Selby says: " I have known a pair of these birds to strip a considerable sized plum-tree of every bud in the space of two days." On this account, gardeners are sometimes compelled to wage war against the bull-finch The song of this bird, in a wild state, is very simple, and has no particular quality to recommend it; but it is remarkably susceptible of improvement by education; and trained bull-finches of superior acquirements are sold at a very considerable price. Some of these birds learn to whistle an air very accurately, and with a power and variety of intonation far exceeding their natural song. The ability to whistle several airs well,
is rare. The training of these birds is a work both of time and trouble: it is chiefly car ried on in Germany. Not less than nine months of training are requisite: it begins when the bird is a mere nestling, and must be carefully continued till after the first moulting; for it is a curious circumstance, that all which has been previously acquired is very apt to be lost at that time, or is afterwards so imperfectly remembered that the bird is of little value. The bull-finch is capable of very strong attachment to those who feed and caress it, and often becomes so thoroughly domesticated as to exhibit no desire for liberty.—Curious variations of plumage are sometimes observed in it.—Other species of the genus pyrrhula are known, natives of different parts of the world; and in this genus some ornithologists include corythus of envier, of which one species, the pine finch (q.v.), or pine grosbeak, is a native of Britain.
Rana pipiens, a species of frog (q.v.) found in most parts of the United States and Canada, but chiefly abundant in the southern states. It is of a large size, 8 to 12 in. long, of an olive-green color, clouded with black. It receives its name from the remarkable loudness of its voice, which has been compared to the bellow ing of a distant bull, and comes in as a hollow bass in the frog concerts which take place in the evening and all night long in marshy places in America. Its voice can be distinctly heard at a distance of 40 or 50 yards. It sits for hours during the day, basking in the sun, near the margin of a stream, into which it plunges with a great leap on the least appearance of danger. It does not confine itself to insect and molluseous food, like smaller frogs, but is said to be partial to young ducks, and to swallow them entire. Audubon says " its flesh is tender, white, and affords excellent eating," the hind legs, however, being the only part used for food. He adds that these parts make excellent bait for the larger cat-fish, and that lie has generally used the gun for procuring them, loading with very small shot.