Plumage soft, blended, with very little gloss. Wings of ordinary length, the first quill longest, the second and third a little shorter; secondaries short, emarginate. Tail of ordinary length, forked, the lateral feathers straight, but spreading.
Bill light yellowish-brown, dusky at the tip. Iris brown. Feet purplish-brown. The general colour of the upper parts is yellowish-grey, streaked with dark brown; the wings and tail dusky, margined with greyish-white; the bases of the secondary quills, the tips of their coverts, and the margins of the rump feathers, cream-coloured. The lower parts are greyish-white, tinged with brown on the fore neck, and all streaked with dull brown.
Length 4 9⁄12 inches, extent of wings 8½; bill along the ridge 5⁄12, along the edge 7⁄12; tarsus 6⁄12.
Adult Female. Plate CLXXX. Fig. 2.
The Female scarcely differs from the Male in external appearance.
This species belongs to the group of Slender-billed Finches which form the genus Carduelis of authors. The form of its bill, although much thicker than that of Sylvia celata, bears a great resemblance to it, the latter forming the transition between the Slender-billed Finches and some of the Sylviæ.
The Black Larch.
Pinus pendula, Pursh, Fl. Amer. Sept. vol. ii. p. 645. Lambert, Monogr. p. 55. pl. 36.—Monœcia Polyandria, Linn. Coniferæ, Juss.
Abundant in the Northern States, where it attains a great size. It resembles the European Larch (Pinus Larix) in appearance, and in the quality of its wood. The leaves are deciduous and fasciculate, the cones small, oblong, their scales rounded with inflected margins. It is usually known by the names of Tamarack or Hackmatack.