July 1, 1869.1 



HARDWICKE'S SCI EN C E-G 0;SSIP. 



157 



almost regard them as long and very narrow fields. 

 It often happens that in such lanes as these the 

 hedges remain untrimmed for years, and grow to a 

 considerable height; while in many places the lanes 

 are so narrow that the trees on either side meet 

 overhead. Nothing can be more beautiful than the 

 appearance which a lane like this presents in the 

 month of May. The hawthorn is then in full 

 bloom, and the hedges are thickly draped with its 

 white clusters. The banks are hidden with ferns 

 and wild flowers, and a thick short turf stretches 

 invitingly under foot. This is the spot for an orni- 

 thologist, for here the small birds love to congre- 



opportunity occurs. As autumn goes by and winter 

 approaches, we find him by the cover-side and in 

 more sheltered situations. Many a time when 

 standing, gun in hand, at the corner of a wood, 

 waiting for the approach of the beaters, have we 

 been enlivened by watching the actions of the Bull- 

 finch and his friends the Tits, and we fancy some of 

 our friends would laugh if they knew that we had 

 allowed a hare to go by without shooting, in order 

 to note the manoeuvres of our feathered friends. 

 It seemed to us at the time that there was a greater 

 pleasure in observing the actions and habits of a 

 living bird than in contemplating the body of a dead 



Eig. 121. The Bullfinch. 



gate. The Chiff-chaff, Willow Wren, and noisy 

 Whitethroat are heard and seen at intervals as we 

 stroll down the long vista. The Swallow, first seen 

 like a speck at the end of the lane, comes skim- 

 ming over the ground impetuously towards us, only 

 rising overhead when within a few feet, to avoid a 

 collision ; while the Chaffinch, Yellowhammer, and 

 Great Tit, then in their best plumage, keep 

 flitting in and out before us, and look brighter than 

 ever against the background of white " May." 



It is in a lane like this that the Bullfinch takes 

 up its abode in summer, visiting the nearest gar- 

 dens, and making raids upon the fruit-trees where 



hare. But few, probably, would have agreed with 

 us at such a moment. 



We are obliged to confess that we never shot a 

 Bullfinch, not even to ascertain by dissection the 

 nature of its food ; but, so far as we have been able 

 to observe this bird when feeding in a state of 

 nature, we should say that it is not insectivorous in 

 the strict sense of the term, although, as before 

 stated, the young are fed upon larvae of various 

 kinds, until they are able to take care of themselves, 

 when they forthwith regale upon buds and fruit. 



The nest is a truly wonderful structure, so loosely 

 put together, and yet so symmetrical in shape. It is 



