. Britain's birds and their nests . g of other birds—often of widely different types—form the chief items inits repertoire. Family, FRINGILLID^ (Finches, &c.) ;Subfamily, FRINGILLIN^ (Finches). THE GREENFINCH (Ligurinus chloris).Plate 79. The Finch family is one of the best-known groups of Perching Birds, containing as it does so many of ourmost familiar birds. Those members which we have todeal with all show a great degree of resemblance in size,form, and habits, but considerable variety in the matterof plumage. This is often bright and showy in the cock,the two sexes differing markedly in th
. Britain's birds and their nests . g of other birds—often of widely different types—form the chief items inits repertoire. Family, FRINGILLID^ (Finches, &c.) ;Subfamily, FRINGILLIN^ (Finches). THE GREENFINCH (Ligurinus chloris).Plate 79. The Finch family is one of the best-known groups of Perching Birds, containing as it does so many of ourmost familiar birds. Those members which we have todeal with all show a great degree of resemblance in size,form, and habits, but considerable variety in the matterof plumage. This is often bright and showy in the cock,the two sexes differing markedly in this respect. Im-mature birds, as a rule, resemble the adult hen, but maybe even duller, and may have their colours obscured bydusky bars. Although there is generally but one moultin the year, there is, nevertheless, some seasonal changein many cases. This is due to the shedding of dull tipsand edges in spring, which exposes the brighter portionsof the individual feathers. One of the most obvious structural characteristics of. Plate 80. H AW FINCH—Coccothraiis tes vidgciris. Length, 7 in. ; wing, 4 in. [Passeres : Fringillidje ; Fringilli nas.]2 F 248 BRITAINS BIRDS AND THEIR NESTS. 249 the family is the large, hard, conical beak. This is anadaptation to a diet consisting chiefly of seeds. Insects,however, are taken in summer by most species to a greateror less extent, and the young in the nest are usually fedentirely on them. In search of seeds Finches have tospend much of their time on the ground, where theyprogress by hopping; but otheiwise they are typical perchers. In summer they are scarcely gregarious; butin winter they habitually pack together, the sexes veryoften keeping in separate flocks. No very high develop-ment of song is characteristic of the group, most of thebirds possessing short refrains of stereotyped pattern andlittle musical merit. To this, however, there are severalbrilliant exceptions. The song is to be heard almostthroughout the year in fine weather
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, booksubjectbirdsne, bookyear1910
