The SNOW FINCH or STONE FINCH (_Montifringilla nivalis_) is nearly allied
to the Finches before described, but differs from the preceding species
in the shape of the long, curved, and spur-like nail upon the hinder
toe, its long wings, and the fact that both male and female have the
same coloured plumage. We shall therefore consider it as the type of a
distinct group. The length of this species is eight and three-quarter
inches, and its breadth across the wings fourteen inches. The plumage is
simple but very beautifully marked. In the old birds the head and neck
are of a blueish ash-grey, the mantle brown, the upper wing-covers half
black, half white; the under part of the body of a whitish shade; the
throat black or blackish. After moulting, the original colours of the
plumage are concealed by the light borders of the feathers. The tail is
white, with the exception of the upper cover and its two middle feathers,
these being white tipped with black. The beak is black in summer and
yellow in winter; the feet are black, and the eyes brown. The young birds
are grey; the throat is of a dirty white; and the feathers that form the
white markings on the wings, are streaked with black, and have black
shafts. Among European birds are two distinct species of Stone Finches,
the first of which belongs to the more northern countries, the other is
found in great numbers in most of the Tyrolean and Swiss Alps. Both pass
the summer months in mountain ranges, preferring such wild and barren
places as lie close to the boundaries of eternal snow and ice in these
deserted regions, always mounting higher and higher, as the warm rays of
the sun remove the snowy mantle from the naked rocks. In cold seasons
they remain lower down, but never leave the vicinity of the glaciers,
where they may be seen generally in pairs or small parties, perching upon
such bare and rugged peaks as rear their crests nearest to the sky, and
over which they fly in joyous confusion, or hop about the ground like
the Chaffinches. During especially severe winters they may be met in the
valleys, searching for the various seeds of which their food consists,
and even there always seem to prefer the highest ground. Tschudi tells us
that upon one occasion, a whole cloud of Snow Finches, numbering upwards
of a thousand, was seen by a hunter in the open country near Kleven, of
which he succeeded in killing some hundreds; the poor birds appearing
to be so hungry and stupefied, that when he fired, such as had not been
reached by his shot fell to the ground in company with their wounded
fellows. Most observers tell us that they are harmless and confiding, and
may often be found flying in and out of the huts of the mountaineers, who
take great pleasure in watching and feeding them; they are, however, very
timid, and will take every precaution to prevent the discovery of their
nests.
The song of the Snow Finch is a short, disjointed, piping note, or a call
resembling that of the Cross-bill; when frightened it utters a kind of
chirp: its voice is principally heard during the period of incubation.
The breeding season commences in April or the beginning of May. This
bird builds by preference in deep clefts of perpendicular rocks, though
occasionally it will occupy holes in walls or the roofs of houses,
whether the latter are inhabited or not. The nest is capacious and
substantially constructed of fine grasses lined with wool, horsehair, or
feathers. The young are tended by both parents with great affection, and
fed principally upon the larvæ of insects, spiders, and little worms.
When the nest is situated in a deep cleft, the young are assisted in
climbing out of it by the old birds, in order that they also may revel
in the beds of snow. These Finches are constant guests at various Alpine
hospices for travellers, and meet with every attention from the monks who
inhabit them.