THK GOLDFrNCH.* 



" Goldtiiuli, jnidc of ■nnodland glade, 

 111 thy jet and jL^uld arrayed ; 

 {jcntlc bird, that lov'bt to feed 

 On the tliistle"s downy seed ; 

 Fi( ely frolic, lijajlitly sing-, 

 In the sunb-^am spread thy wing ! 

 Spread thy plinnage, trim and gay, 

 Glittering in the noontide ray! 

 As upon the thorn-tree's stem 

 I'erch'd thou bij)p'st the dewj' gem. 

 Fiukle bird, for ever roving, 

 Endless elianges ever loving ; 

 Now in orchards gaily sporting, 

 IS^ow to flowery fields resorting ; 

 C'liasing now the thistle's down, 

 By the gentle zephyr blown ; 

 Lightly on thou wing'st thy way, 

 Always happy, always gay." 



The colours of the female goldfinch resemble those of the male, both in their distri- 

 bution and their markings, only they are not so brilliant in their tints, and the red on 

 the foreliead and the chin is sometimes cloiided with a few black spots. The youno- have 

 the head brownish. There is not much seasonal change in the plumage, only it is less 

 bright in winter, and the full beauty is not acquired till the birds are in sono-. 



Grahanic is correct in his rural sketch : — 



" The goldtinch weaves with willow down inlaid, 

 And C'annaeh tufts, his wonderful abode ; 

 Sometimes suspended at the timber end. 

 Of plane-ti-ee spray among the broad-leaved shoots, 

 The tiny hammock swings to every gale ; 

 Sometimes in closest thickets 'tis concealed, 

 Sometimes in hedge lu.xuriant, where the brier. 

 The bramble, and the plum-tree branch ; 

 Warp through tlie thorn, surmounted by the iiowers 

 Of climbing vetcli and honeysuckle ^nld." 



Fringilla Carduelis. 



d 



