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Birds of six or seven inches in length, stout-bodied, head with a conspicuous crest; beautifully soft, quaker plumage, tail tipped with yellow, red wax-like tips to the wing coverts, straight black bill. Sexes similar; a resident bird.

Birds of the air in the fullest sense. "Bill flat, broad, triangular." Mouth opening to below the eyes; long, strong wings, small feet, which are seldom used; broad head and stout neck; the tail more or less forked. Sexes similar: song, a pleasant, twittering warble. The plumage in some species is dull, but in others beautifully iridescent above and ruddy below. residents All insectivorous birds and summer residents.

A brilliantly coloured family undergoing great changes of plumage during the year, the colours of the sexes being wholly different, the males having much red about them. Bill short, the long, pointed wings exceeding the tail in length.

'The largest family of North American Birds, comprising one-seventh of all our birds. These birds are true seed. eaters, though they feed their young largely on an insectivorous diet.

"The bill approaches nearest the ideal cone, combining strength to crush seeds with delieacy of touch to secure minute objects." (Dr. Coues.) The family contains birds of every size and colour, sexes either similar or unlike, — Finches, Buntings, Linnets, Grosbeaks, Crossbills, and Sparrows, whose traits it is impossible to describe in general terms.