206 FKINGILLID^. 



placed ill hollow trees, under the thatch of houses, in the 

 holes of walls, and in deep wells ; a discrepancy which 

 would lead one to suppose that the Tree Sparrow is as 

 capricious in selecting a dwelling as his congener. 



THE GREENFmCH. 



COCCOTHRAUSTES CHLORIS. 



All the plumage yellowish green, variegated with yellow and ash-grey. Length 

 six inches. Eggs bluish white, speckled and spotted with purplish grey and 

 dark brown. 



The Greenfinch, or Green Linnet, is one of our most 

 generally diffused birds. Its systematic name, Cocco- 

 thraustes, "grain-crusher," would seem to have been given 

 to it with reference to its habit of husking the barley and 

 other seeds on which it feeds. No bird is a more frequent 

 inhabitant of country gardens during the summer than 

 this, being attracted, it would seem, not so much by the 

 prospect of abundance of food, as by its fondness for 

 building its nest in evergreens and the thick hedges of 

 shrubberies. The lively greenish yellow tint of the 

 plumage on its throat and breast sufficiently distinguish it 

 from any other British bird ; and its note, when once iden- 

 tified, can be confounded with no other song. Let any 

 one who wishes to obtain a sight of one, walk anywhere in 

 the country where there are trees, on a bright sunny day in 

 May or June, and listen for a monotonous long-drawn croak, 

 trying to pronounce the syllable "twe-e-e." jSTo matter 

 what other birds may be tuning their lays, the harsh 

 monotone of the Greenfinch, if one be near, will be heard 

 among them, harmonizing with none, and suggestive of 

 heat and weariness. In a few seconds it will be repeated, 

 without a shadow of variation either in tone or duration ; 

 and if it be traced out, the author of the noise (music I 

 cannot call it) will be discovered perched among the 



