ABERDEVINE (Carduelis spine, Cm-kr ; Fringilla figuring, Ranzani), sometimes called the Siskin, a well-known song-bird, which has some resemblance to the green variety of the canary bird, but there is considerable difference in individual birds with respect to the brightness of colouring. The colours of the male in full plumage are as follows : top of the head, black ; ear coverts, dusky ; a line above the eyes ; sides of neck, throat, and chest, lemon yellow ; back and shoulders, dark olive green, with obscure dusky dashes; quills, brown, with an oblique yellow bar and another above, produced by the yellow edging of the greater coverts ; flanks, dusky, with a few brown dashes; rump, yellow, slightly washed with green ; two middle tail feathers, dark brown, the rest yellow, tipped with brown; bill and legs, brown colour. Length, 4i inches. Tail, short and forked. The plumage of the female is less bright and decidedly marked.
Sapp has delineated the nest of the aberdevine in the cleft of an oak, built with bent mixed with leaves, and profusely lined with feathers ; the base neatly rounded, and the feathers projecting above the rim, and concealing the eggs, which arc blueish.white, speckled
with purplish red, like those of the goldfineh. Temininck, again, says it builds in the highest branches of the pine.
It breeds in the north of Europe, and only visits Britain, Germany, and France in the autumn and winter. It is represented in some books as very irregular in its migration, particularly to this country; but we suspect that this opinion has arisen from irregular obser vation, for, since our attention has been directed to the subject, wo have remarked its arrival about Lee, in Kent, to be almost ns regular as the departure of the swallows, which takes piece about the same time. During its winter stay with us, the aberdevine feeds chiefly on the seeds of the birch and Bider.
As a enge-bird it is frequently paired with the canary, to produce what are termed mule-birds ; but it is, besides, a lively and persevering songster.