THE LINNET 219 



and It is no uncommon thing for a dozen males or 

 more to sing together ; and exquisitely beautiful 

 they look, perched on the topmost sprays with 

 crimson breasts distended in the bright sunshine. 

 The song is not a loud one, but it is very sweet 

 and warbling in parts, and is all too short for our 

 full enjoyment. The Linnet is by no means a 

 frequent songster ; he may be heard, and sometimes 

 very persistently, through the breeding season ; but 

 it is in the pairing time, just before and just after 

 the flocks disperse, that he seems to be most filled 

 with melody. The call-note of the Linnet is a 

 shrill and somewhat musical twitter ; whilst the cry 

 heard between the sexes is a plaintive iycw-ec. 



The Linnet appears to pair at least a month 

 before it begins nest-building. The fa\o rite 

 breeding-place of this little Finch is ground more 

 or less thickly covered with gorse, broom, and 

 thickets of brambles, briars, and low thorn-bushes. 

 The nest is made frequently amongst the dense 

 gorse, where its discovery is a matter of great 

 difficulty ; a broom-bush, or a thicket of briars is 

 another favourite spot ; whilst a young fir tree, or 

 a crotch in a dense thorn are occasionally selected. 

 In some places long ling is often resorted to. The 

 nest is a very pretty one, made outwardly of bits of 

 dead gorse, dry grass, moss, dead leaves, and per- 

 haps a few slender twigs ; and lined with a thick 

 bed of hair, wool, the down from certain plants, and 



