;64 



PERCHING BIRDS 



as is the back, which, Hke the greater wing-coverts, is tinged with 

 chestnut ; while the streaks on the lower surfaces are also more 

 pronounced than in adult cocks. 



The northern breeding-range of the linnet is some three degrees 

 short of that of the siskin, while to the eastward the typical form of 

 the species reaches only to the Caucausus, where, as in Central Asia, 

 it is replaced b}' a paler phase, with white margins to the greater 

 wing-coverts. The ordinary form is, however, found in northern 

 Africa and the Canary Islands. In Great Britain and Ireland the 

 linnet is a resident and widely-spread species, although unknown in 



the Shetlands and almost so 

 in the Outer Hebrides. A 

 general movement of the 

 species takes place towards the 

 south and east, when many 

 linnets leave the country ; 

 those returning in spring 

 being distinguishable from the 

 stay-at-home birds by their 

 somewhat brighter colouring. 



Furze-bushes, and to a 

 less degree broom and heather, 

 are the favourite nesting re- 

 sorts of the linnet, which 

 occasionally, however, builds 

 under their shelter on the 

 ground. Seeds, especially, in 

 LINNET (male) localitics where they can be 



obtained, the oily ones of hemp 

 and flax, constitute the chief food of the species, and even the young are 

 fed to a less extent on insects and more on seeds than is the case with 

 other members of the finch-group. The song, which causes the linnet 

 to be a favourite cage-bird, is, in the wild state, chiefly characteristic 

 of the breeding-season. The cup-shaped nest of moss is of the usual 

 finch-type, with a lining of hair, wool, and some feathers ; while the 

 bluish eggs are characterised by the general aggregation of rust- 

 coloured spots, overlain by blackish-purple lines and streaks, in a ring 

 at the larger end. 



MOUNTEO IN THE ROWLAND WARD STUDIOS 



