The Morning Finch (Zonotrichia matutina), as the Brazilian species has been called, is eminently distinguished for its powers of song. In size it is somewhat smaller than its North American brother, not exceeding five and a half inches in length: its appearance much resembles that of our Reed Bunting: the head is grey, striped with black; the nape of the neck a rusty red; the back brown; the feathers have a light tip, and their shafts broadly marked with black; the throat is white, with a streak of black at the sides.
Large numbers of these birds frequent the villages of South America, and pass the day seeking for food, like our Sparrows, from amongst the offal in the streets, perching at night and early morning upon the roofs of the houses, and pouring forth their sweet enlivening song. The nest, which is large, and usually placed in a bush in some neighbouring garden, is built of dry straw, hair, or feathers, and is generally found to contain four or five greenish-white eggs, marked very thickly with spots of a light red colour. Other species are met with in North America and in Asia.
We have selected another North American species as the type of a distinct group of Bunting Finches (Spizella), the members of which are recognisable by their conical beak, compressed at its sides, which curve slightly inwards; their wings are of moderate length, the third quill being the longest. The tail is but slightly excised, the feet large, and the legs covered with small scales; the plumage is soft, but not particularly striking in its hues.
THE TREE BUNTING FINCH.
The Tree Bunting Finch (Spizella Canadensis) is rather more than eight inches long and eight inches across, the wing and tail each measuring rather more than two inches. In the plumage of such birds as have attained their full beauty, the top of the head is of a light reddish brown; the mantle is of the same colour intermixed with black; the quills greyish brown, bordered with yellow, and the wings surrounded by two white lines; the chin, throat, and lower part of the neck are a light grey, the breast and belly greyish white, shaded upon their sides with yellowish brown, and marked with a deeper tint. A light grey stripe passes over the eyes towards the back of the head; the iris is greyish brown; the beak blackish brown upon the upper mandible and tip of lower one, the remainder of the latter being yellow; the feet are of a deep flesh colour. The female closely resembles her mate in plumage; but the young are by no means so brightly tinted as the parent birds.
The Tree Bunting Finches are met with in large numbers throughout North America, though they will not breed in every locality that they frequent, the more northern portions being, we believe, preferred for that purpose. Like most of their congeners, these birds pass the winter months in flying about the country in company with Buntings and a variety of other Finches, seeking food upon the hedges and trees, whose seeds constitute their principal nourishment, and sheltering themselves during very severe weather by creeping into such low bushes as are thickly surrounded with long grass or dry plants, thus affording a defence against the keenness of the wind. They generally arrive in the more southern States at the commencement of winter, and gradually disappear as spring returns. The breeding season is in May, and during that time they frequently attain a power of song of which they are incapable when not inspired by the wish to attract the attention of their mates, whose favour they endeavour to win by alternately chirping and singing throughout the entire evening. The day is spent in hopping about on the ground, and in the evening they disport themselves with wonderful agility upon the branches of their favourite trees. Their flight is rapid and undulating. The nest, which is usually constructed against an upright branch or stem, is formed of coarse grass, lined with slender fibres or hair. The brood consists of from four to five eggs of a uniform dark blue. Shortly after the young are fledged, the whole party attach themselves to a large flock of their congeners, in whose society some few weeks are passed preparatory to their winter migrations. The food of this species consists of a variety of seeds, berries, and insects.
THE PRAIRIE BUNTING FINCH.
The Prairie Bunting Finch (Passerculus savannus) is one of the most numerous members of this group; it is distinguished by its short conical beak, the upper mandible of which is short; by its rounded wings, having the third and fourth quills longer than the rest; short graduated tail, moderate tarsus, and soft velvety plumage. Upon the upper portion of the body the feathers are of a pale reddish brown, presenting somewhat the appearance of being spotted, owing to the darker tint upon the shafts; the lower parts are white, marked upon the breast with small deep brown spots, and the sides are streaked with the same colour. The beak is dark brown upon the upper mandible, the lower one a shade paler; the eyes are brown; the feet of a light flesh colour. The length of this bird is five and a half inches, and its breadth eight and a half inches. The female resembles the male, but her plumage is lighter in its tints.