The female is one third smaller than the male; part of the upper mandible is black; the head and upper part of the body, including the wing-coverts, are of a dark ash-colour; the feathers on the rump have only an orange edge, with a light tip; the cheeks are of a light grey; the under part of the body is pale sulphur, the pen-feathers blackish; the greater and lesser wing-coverts are finely speckled with white; the tips of the tail-feathers are greyish white. The male varies in its colours for several years before it permanently acquires those above described: it may be seen with the back grey, slightly tinted with red, the belly black, speckled with yellow; others with the back reddish grey, spotted with bright red, and the belly of a sulphur yellow, with black rings, and more or less speckled, &c. OBSERVATIONS.--These birds are as sociable as the waxbills; if there should be twenty or thirty in the same cage, they perch close against one another on the same perch; and, what is more singular, they never sing together, but one after another, the rest keeping quite silent to listen to the songster. Their song resembles that of the hay bird, and continues through the winter. The females do not sing; those are wrong who think the contrary. They are very active, often bowing and spreading their tail like a fan. In their native country their food consists of different seeds, particularly millet; this is also given it in the cage, as well as canary seed. They eat and drink a great deal. They will live from six to ten years. THE PARADISE GROSBEAK. Loxia erythrocephala, LINNÆUS; Le Cardinal d'Angola, BUFFON; Der Paridiese-Kernbeisser, BECHSTEIN. This species is about six inches long; the beak and feet are flesh-coloured, the head and chin red; the upper part of the neck, the back, rump, and wing-coverts, bluish grey; the upper tail-coverts are edged with grey; the under part of the body white, with dark brown spots on the sides; the wing-coverts white at the tip, which forms two transverse streaks on the wings; the pen and tail-feathers are of a dark grey, with lighter tips. The female does not differ from the male. OBSERVATIONS.--The male sings through the whole year, but its voice is so weak that the least noise overpowers it. In England this species has been made to breed in an aviary. Its food is millet and rape seed, and sometimes a little hemp seed. THE REDBILL. Loxia sanguinirostris, LINNÆUS; Le Becsanguin, BUFFON; Der Rothschäbliger Kernbeisser, BECHSTEIN.