Birds of America
By John James Audubon, F. R. SS. L. & E.
VOLUME III.
GENUS IX.--FRINGILLA, Linn. FINCH.
Bill short, stout, conical, somewhat compressed, pointed; upper mandible of
the same breadth as the lower, with its dorsal line straight, the ridge
indistinct, the sides rounded, the edges ascending at the base, the notches
obsolete, the tip scarcely deflected; lower mandible with the angle very short
and rounded, the dorsal line straight, the sides convex, the edges inflected,
the tip acute. Nostrils basal, roundish, concealed by the feathers. Head
rather large, ovate; neck short; body compact. Legs of moderate length; tarsus
rather short, compressed, with seven scutella; toes moderate; hind toe stout,
lateral equal. Claws rather long, arched, compressed, acute. Plumage rather
compact, but blended. Wings of moderate length, with the second, third, and
fourth quills longest. Tail of moderate length, slightly emarginate. Roof of
upper mandible moderately concave, with three longitudinal ridges; tongue
compressed, channelled above, dilated about the middle; stomach roundish,
muscular; intestine rather short; coeca small.