126 THE LIVING ANIMALS OF THE WORLD 



BULLFINCH 



Black I'arietUs are occaiwnatls taken in a ivild slate. Caged 

 specimens Jed on hemp-seed Jre^juenlly turn black 



varies, a favourite place being an old apple- or pear- 

 tree in an orchard ; but the woods and fir plantations 

 are not seldom resorted to. The GREENFINCH is an 

 cquall}' common British bird. Of a more confiding 

 disposition than the hawfinch, it makes an excellent 

 cage-bird, becoming with judicious treatment exceed- 

 ingly tame. It is a useful bird, travelling during the 

 autumn and winter in large flocks, and feeding on 

 the seeds of wild mustard and other weeds. Its nest 

 differs conspicuously from that of the hawfinch, being 

 a somewhat untidy structure, composed of fibrous 

 roots, moss, and wool, lined with finer roots, horse- 

 hair, and feathers. 



Among the True Finches, distinguished from 

 the Grosbeaks by their less powerful bills, are several 

 other well-known British birds. Of these, none are 

 better known than the CHAFFINCH. Gay in appear- 

 ance and sprightly in habit, this is a general favourite 

 everywhere, and much in demand as a cage-bird. 

 His short though delightful song possesses a peculiar 

 charm, coming as it does with the earliest signs of 

 returning spring. The fascination of this song has 

 never been better expressed than in Browning's lines: — 



O to be in JCngland 



Now that April 's there ; 



And whoever wakes in England 



Sees, some morning, unaware, 



That the lowest boughs of the brushwood sheaf 



Round the elm-tree bole are in tiny leaf, 



While the Chaffinch sings on the orchard bough 



In England now ! 



The nest, which is an exceptionally beautifiil structure, takes about a fortnight to build. 

 Closely woven, it appears to consist mainly of wool, into which moss and lichens of various 

 colours are deftly woven. The outside is cunningly decorated with bits of lichen and the 

 inner bark of trees, such as the birch, the whole being secured by a thin veil of spiders' webs. 

 The lichen and bark serve to render the nest inconspicuous by blending it with the general 

 appearance of the bush or small tree in a forked bough of which it is placed. Inside the 

 wool is more closely felted even than on the outside, and this is covered with fine hairs, 

 amongst which a few feathers are intermixed. The work of building seems to be done b}' the 

 female only, though the male helps by bringing the materials. 



Of the Goldfinch, Linnet.s, and Bullfinch, by far the most popular and beautiful is the 

 Goldfinch, which is, and probably will long remain, one of the most prized of cage-birds. 

 Gifted "with the fatal gift of beauty," this bird is much persecuted by bird-catchers; and 

 indeed, partly owing to the depredations of these men, and partly to improved methods of 

 agriculture, which have diminished its feeding-area, this handsome bird is growing more and 

 more rare every year. 



Next to the goldfinch pcrha]5s tlie LiNNET is most sought after as a cage-bird. Large 

 numbers are taken during the autumn, when the birds congregate in large flocks before 

 departure on migration. Those captured in the sjM'ing are said to be very impatient of 

 confinement, and only a small percentage seem to survive. 



The linnet is one of the most variable of birds in the matter of plumage, and for a long 

 while the opinion was generally held, especially by bird-catchers, that several distinct species — 



