Perching Birds. 



1 1 



0L^ 



The Chaffinch. 



is the largest of the British Finches, and is a very 



powerful bird. For some years past its range in 



Great Britain has been evidently increasing, and 



it now breeds in some of our midland counties 



where it was formerly quite unknown. Notwith- 

 standing its large size, the Hawfinch is never 



very easy to observe, and often a glimpse of 



the white on the wings and tail is all that is seen 



of the bird as it disappears with a wonderfully 



rapid flight. This species does considerable 



damage to peas, of which the young birds will 



devour a large quantit}', and stone fruit is also a 



favourite food of the Hawfinch, which strips off 



the fruit in order to get at the stone and devour 



the kernel. The nest is made of twigs and lined 



with roots and hair, and there is an external 



net-work of small twigs imparting rather a pretty 



appearance to some of the nests. 



^j^£ With the exception, perhaps, of the Greenfinch, the Chaffinch is 



CHAFFINCH. our commonest Finch, and it not only nests everywhere throughout 



(Frlngilla the British Islands, but is also plentiful in winter, when a consider- 



ciclebs.) .^i3]g iinmigration to our shores takes place. The Chaffinch is a very 



pretty bird, and if it were a denizen of some tropical country, its beauty would be 



thought still more of than is the case in Europe. As with the generality of Finches, 



the female is different from the male, and not nearly so bright in colour. 



The nest of the Chaffinch is a beautiful little structure, being cup-shaped, and 



made of moss, with a few twigs, lined with horsehair, feathers and down. It is 



placed in the fork of a branch of a tree, and the outside of the nest is covered with 



lichens and cobwebs, which cause the nest to resemble the bark of the tree to which 



It is attached, so that it is often difficult to discover. The eggs are from four to six in 



number, and vary considerabh', being 

 sometimes pale blue without any 

 spots. Typical eggs, however, have 

 more or less of a pinkish shade, and 

 show a few blotches or scribblings 

 of black or reddish brown. 



The B r a m b l I n g (F ringilla 



iiiontifringilla). Although similar in 



form to the Chaftinch, building a nest 



and laying eggs like those of the last- 



Thf. Bramblino or Mountain Finch. named bird, the Brambling is very 



