Family XV. FRINGILLINAE. FINCHES.
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.