176 TEE SMALLER BRITISH BIRDS. 



young are fori on caterpillars and small insects, and are most care- 

 fully tended and guarded by the old birds, who utter loud cries of 

 distress and alarm if any intruder approaches the nest. iMcycr relates 

 the following instance of their affection for their off-spring: — "One 

 day several little nestlings were caught in a field adjoining the garden; 

 they were scarcely fledged, and could not fly; we put them in a small 

 cage, which we placed in a low hedge bordoring the field where they 

 were captured. It was not long before they were discovered by the 

 parents, who immediately visited them, and appeared to bring them 

 food. These marks of affection interested us, and fearing that where 

 they were placed the young nestlings might become a prey to prowling 

 cats, we gave them their liberty. The parents, however, appeared not 

 yet satisfied respecting the safety of their young ones, for a short 

 time after they were observed in the act of carrying one of them 

 away; they were bearing it between them at about the elevation of 

 a foot and a half from the ground, and in this manner were seen to 

 carry it about fifty yards, namely, from the spot where the young 

 birds were set at liberty, to the end of a gravel path, where they 

 entered a clump of fir-trees. In what manner the parents supported 

 the nestling was not very apparent, as the observers did not like to 

 follow too quickly, lest the old birds should relinquish their burden; 

 but from the close vicinity of the three during their flight, it appeared 

 as if they must have upheld it by means of their beaks. The other 

 nestlings had apparently been conveyed away in the same manner, as 

 none of them were to be found." 



Ou the approach of winter the Greenfinches collect in large flocks 

 and resort to stubble-fields, stackyards, and the neighbourhood of farm 

 buildings. 



THE HAWFINCH, 



(Coccothraustcs vulgaris.') 

 PLATE ^.. — Figure iv. 



The Hawfinch is one of the least elegantly formed and graceful of 

 our British species; "it looks," says Macgillivray, "like a small bird 

 on which has been stuck the head and bill of another double the size." 

 Notwithstanding the clumsiness of its shape, however, the tints and 

 markings of its plumage are so delicate and beautiful, that its general 

 appearance is both handsome and attractive. 



