The MORNING FINCH (_Zonotrichia matutina_), as the Brazilian species has
been called, is eminently distinguished for its powers of song. In size
it is somewhat smaller than its North American brother, not exceeding
five and a half inches in length: its appearance much resembles that
of our Reed Bunting: the head is grey, striped with black; the nape of
the neck a rusty red; the back brown; the feathers have a light tip,
and their shafts broadly marked with black; the throat is white, with a
streak of black at the sides.
Large numbers of these birds frequent the villages of South America, and
pass the day seeking for food, like our Sparrows, from amongst the offal
in the streets, perching at night and early morning upon the roofs of the
houses, and pouring forth their sweet enlivening song. The nest, which is
large, and usually placed in a bush in some neighbouring garden, is built
of dry straw, hair, or feathers, and is generally found to contain four
or five greenish-white eggs, marked very thickly with spots of a light
red colour. Other species are met with in North America and in Asia.
* * * * *
We have selected another North American species as the type of a
distinct group of Bunting Finches (_Spizella_), the members of which are
recognisable by their conical beak, compressed at its sides, which curve
slightly inwards; their wings are of moderate length, the third quill
being the longest. The tail is but slightly excised, the feet large,
and the legs covered with small scales; the plumage is soft, but not
particularly striking in its hues.