300 

 THE BULLFINCH. 



ryrrhnia europcra, Vieill. 



The song of the wild or untutored Bullfinch is 

 certainly not a musical trinniph, though it is very soft, 

 Avithont unpleasant or shrill sounds. Nor is the bird 

 capable of mocking other species. Nevertheless, when 

 properly trained, the Bullfinch excels them all in 

 what many think a far more desirable and wonderfnl 

 accomplishment, that is, in his remarkable aptitude for 

 learning whistling as performed by human lips, or, as it 

 is termed, piping. 



The natural call-note of the Bnllfinch is in itself a 

 piping sound ; simple, short, flute-like, and easily 

 imitated by the human lips; this simple call the bird 

 can modulate at will a few semi-tones higher or lower. 

 This very elementary talent has been fostered and 

 developed by man, calling to aid the power of mimicry 

 nascent in the bird. 



At the present time the training of this bird to pipe 

 really pretty airs has become qnite a profession among 

 the peasants in the Black Forest, Spessart ]\Iountains, 

 and other wooded districts of German}', in which Bull- 

 finches abound. They devote their attention seriously 

 to the rearing and training of numbers of young birds 

 every year, and dispose of them, sometimes at very 

 remunerative prices, to the travelling dealers who 

 supply the different markets of the civilized world. 



One great point in successfnlly training Bullfinches 

 to pipe lies in getting nestlings earh' in the season. The 

 catcher is about their haunts at daybreak and looks out 

 for pairs of Bullfinches feeding on the ground. It is 

 not long before the hen is seen carrying nesting 

 material. Now, which direction are the Inrds taking ? 

 At the spot where he loses sight of them, the nest 

 hunter waits patiently until they pass a second time. 

 Again he posts himself where they disappeared from 

 view the second time, and so on warih', often wearily, 

 until he can mark a tree or bush from which he can 



