THE BULLFINCH.

Turs bird is about the size of a spar
row, has a head and neck larger in pro-
portion to its body than any other small
bird, and thence it has obtained its name.
It has a short black bill, thick and hooked.
In the male, the cheeks, breast, belly,
and flanks, are of a bright red; the back
is gray or lead-colored, the rump white,
and the crown of the head and the tail
are black. The female is bluish-gray
above, and brown below, and less brightly
marked on the othe: parts of the body
than the male. They pair in April, and
make their nests, in hedges, of dry twigs,

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