CATALOGUE OF BIRDS. lO/ 



plantations, large tracts of thick bramble, set hedge- 

 rows, from which they do not emerge much into the 

 open. As they are not ground-feeding birds, this 

 characteristic can easily be understood. The food 

 consists of insects and their larvae, and berries of all 

 sorts in the winter. In the spring they do a great 

 deal of damage to the fruit trees by picking the 

 buds off; in fact, I don't think one could find a more 

 destructive little bird than the Bullfinch is at that 

 time of the year. The species is not gifted with 

 anything more than a little warble of a song, which 

 cannot.be heard unless one is quite close. It has a 

 very plaintive little call note, sounding like " diu, 

 diu." The nest, a sort of platform of twigs, with a 

 lining" of roots, sometimes mixed with softer 

 materials, is situated in hedges, thickets, or on the 

 lower branches of trees. Eggs, — four to six, greenish- 

 blue, spotted and streaked with purplish - brown. 

 Some naturalists believe that when this little bird 

 takes a wife unto himself, he takes her for better 

 or for worse ; that he doesn't change his mind, but 

 sticks to her from year to year. According to 

 Howard Saunders, "This species inhabits the 

 countries south of the Baltic and west of Central 

 Russia as far as the northern portions of the 

 Spanish Peninsula, and in Italy reaches to Naples 

 and Sicily." 



The specimens were shot in orchards adjacent to 

 park-lands near Warlingham, whilst they were 

 busily engaged in attacking the fruit trees. 



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