THE CHAFFINCH 



Fringilla ccelebs 



The Chaffinch, we are glad to say, is not only 

 one of the handsomest but one of the commonest 

 of our native birds. It is widely and generally dis- 

 tributed throughout the British Islands, but of 

 course most frequent in the well-cultivated and 

 wooded districts. Its distribution extends to some 

 of the Outer Hebrides, and during winter to the 

 Shedands. Outside the British limits the Chaffinch 

 is found over most parts of Europe, reaching about 

 as far north as the Arctic Circle in the west, but not 

 beyond lat. 62° in the Ural. South of the Mediter- 

 ranean it is a resident in Algeria and probably 

 Tunis, but is a winter visitor only to Egypt. East- 

 wards, it is found as a breeding species in Palestine, 

 Asia Minor, and Western Persia, and as a winter 

 visitor to North-west Turkestan ; beyond these 

 limits northwards it is difficult to trace, but it is 

 doubtless found in the valley of the Obi. There 



are several allied species, somewhat closely resemb- 

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