Brambling

Brambling, BRAMBLE FINCH, or MOUNTAIN FINCH (Fringilla montifringilla), one of the Finches (q.v.), very like the chaffinch, but slightly larger, and with a more forked tail. In the males, the crown of the head, the cheeks, the back and sides of the neck, and the upper part of the back, are mottled in winter with brown and black; but in spring all these parts have a rich velvety black. The throat and breast are of a rich fawn colour, which is also the prevailing colour of the wings. These are crossed, however, when closed, by an oblique band of jet-black, and by another oblique band of white. The quill-feathers are also black; edged with yellow on their outer webs; the tail-feathers black, edged with reddish white; the rump and the belly are white; a small tuft of feathers under each wing and some of the lower wing-coverts are bright yellow. The female has a reddish-gray head. So far as is known, this finch has no song, but only a monotonous chirp. It is a mere winter visitant in Britain, and even in the south of Sweden it is only a winter bird. It breeds in the more northerly parts of Europe and Asia, and is very widely distributed.