THE BULLFINCH, GREENFINCH, AND 

 CROSSBILL 



There are three other Finches which at least 

 deserve passing notice before bringing our account 

 of this group to a close. Not one of them can claim 

 much reputation for its vocal powers ; yet their 

 simple songs, crude or rarely heard as they may be, 

 appeal to us in some degree, for at least two of 

 these three species are well-known and popular 

 favourites with the lover of wild birds or the fancier 

 of them in captivity. First of these is the showy 

 Bullfinch {Pyrrkula europcEo), a bird that is found 

 in all suitable localities throughout the British area, 

 although rather more local in Scotland and Ireland 

 than it is in England. It cannot readily be con- 

 fused with any other native species, and the male 

 is easily identified by his black head, wings and tail, 

 grey back, white rump and red under-parts. Per- 

 haps there is no shyer singer in our island, or one 

 so readily silenced at the least disturbance. The 

 Bullfinch is a bird of the hedges, the shrubberies 

 and the orchards and gardens ; a secretive species, 

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