Finches.

WE have now arrived at the typical family of the Conirostres, or that group of birds whose bill assumes in the greatest degree a conical form; namely, the Finches, Fringillida. They are the most extensive in number, as well as the smallest in size, of any in the whole tribe. They inhabit all parts of the globe, feeding principally upon the seeds of plants, or the kernels of fruits, which their peculiar organization enables them to procure and devour with facility. Their grand office in the economy of Nature appears to be to assist, and that in no small degree, in keeping down the excess of certain forms of vegetation, subsisting as they do, in many instances, on the germs of life so copiously and abundantly distributed by various plants, chiefly of the composite and cruciform races, the extreme and exuberant fertility of which would otherwise enable them to usurp dominion over every other, and so monopolize the soil as to render it unfit for cultivation. The adaptation, however, as in all similar cases, is of course mutual, and the apparent superfluity of seeds which are annually produced, thus enables thousands and millions of beings to enjoy existence, to enliven and diversify the face of nature with moving life, and to cheer the still monotony of vegetable beauty by their lively and inspiring songs of joy and happiness.*

"British Cyclopædia."

The principal character which distinguishes these birds from all others is the conic form, strength, and comparative shortness of the bill, which is most highly

developed in the

genus coccothraustes. In the sub-families, and sub

genera,

genera, that serve to connect these birds with the neighbour

ing groups, a gradual modification in the

form of the bill may be observed; they are all admirably fitted for gathering or picking up, and crushing the different grains and berries, fruits and kernels upon which they feed, and some of them exhibit a peculiar and beautiful adaptation, which enables them to wrench from their pedicles the firmly-rooted seeds of the fir-cones, or to divide the hardest shells. In some of the species the colours are exceedingly rich and bright, and beautifully combined; but in many they are dull and inconspicuous. The legs are of moderate length, and the three toes which are in front are cleft to their base, so that the birds can freely move both upon the ground and among trees. The species are so very numerous that no general description will apply equally to the whole group: some of the individual peculiarities will be described as we proceed in noticing the principal subordinate divisions.

The species of this family, as just observed, are very numerous, and the similitude that many of them

bear to some of the aberrant groups of the preceding tribe or family are so striking and various, that it is doubtful which is the group most nearly allied to them. We consider, however, that the alaudine is the more aberrant group of the present family; and that as the coccothraustine exhibit in the form and structure of their bill the greatest strength, and closest resemblance to a cone, the several sub-families will arrange themselves as follow; viz., Alaudine (Larks), Fringilline (Ground Finches), Соссоthraustina (or Grosbeaks), Tanagrine (or Tanagers), and Pyrrhuline (or Bull-finches).

The characteristic features of the Larks at once distinguish them from the other groups. The bill, although conic, is much more slender than in any other birds of

claws being uncommonly straight and lengthened, more especially the hinder one, which is either nearly straight or very slightly curved. The uniformity of colouring which prevails generally amongst the Larks is another adaptation to their haunts, and is one out of the numberless instances of that harmonious design which marks the visible creation. Continually exposed, from the character of their haunts,

to the observation of birds of prey and other enemies, the colouring of these birds has been assimilated so nearly to that of the ground, that they can scarcely be distinguished, even when close, by an ordinary observer; and however keen may be the sight of a hawk, the plumage of the Lark is so exactly like the earth upon which it moves, that although its presence might be detected by watching, it would never attract a passing enemy. The food of the Lark consists of grain and different seeds; worms and other insects, as well as the tender blades of grass, form likewise a portion of its fare.

The genus by which the junction is effected between the Larks and the Sturnida, appears to be Macronyx of Swainson, the Crescent-larks of Africa, or Alauda Magna of Linnæus, and of the American ornithologists. The similarity of the latter bird to the Starlings is so apparent as to have caused their being placed amongst them by modern naturalists. Wilson, however, remarks that in the particular form of his bill, in his manners, plumage, mode and place of building his nest, Nature has clearly pointed out his proper family. Audubon calls it the Meadow Lark, or American Starling; but whether it be a member of the Sturnida or of the Alaudine, the affinity between the two groups appears to be remarkably close.

Two species only of this sub-family, the Skylark and the Woodlark, resort to Great Britain. The latter is by no means so abundant a species as the former; neither is its sweetly-warbled song so generally heard. It is confined to the southern and western parts of England, and according to Montagu

is most numerous in Devonshire.

The melodious

richness of its song is scarcely equalled by any of the warblers; and far surpasses in softness and melody the more varied song of the Skylark.

The Skylark (Alauda arvensis) is spread very generally over Europe, different parts of Asia, and the northern part of Africa. The localities it most delights in are extensive arable lands and open meadows; but in Ireland, Mr. Thompson says, it is equally well pleased with the wild mountain pasture. At times this favourite songster will sing while at rest in a clod of earth, but most commonly it sends forth its sweet song while floating in the boundless space above; it rises in a spiral manner on quivering wings, trilling forth its animated and varied lay, mounting up higher and higher, until it seems to the beholder a mere speck in the clear blue firmament of heaven. It descends in an oblique manner, and at first gradually, but when it arrives within twenty or thirty yards of the ground, it ceases its strain, and then sweeps down suddenly to join its mate.

The Skylark breeds in the month of April, or early in May, forming its nest of the stalks of vegetables and dried grasses, and lining it with fine fibres, upon the ground, amongst corn or other herbage. The eggs are of a greenish white, spotted with brown: two broods are reared annually, the second in July or August. The common flight of this bird is easy and undulating, and on the ground it trips along with great facility, its feet, and especially the elongated slender hind-claw, expressly adapting it for the grassy surface of the field. It lives for the most