The Bullfinch 59 



in one of my aviaries built a typical nest (in August) in a small yew-tree ; she 

 laid four eggs and sat steadil}^ for a week, when she deserted them and died the 

 following da}' : examination showed acute inflammation of the cloaca ; two of the 

 eggs, which I put under a Canary, were hatched but not reared. 



The natural song of the Bullfinch is very poor, reminding one of a Jew's- 

 harp ; but hand-reared birds can, with the help of a musical-box, be taught to 

 whistle entire tunes very prettily. The call-note is a soft plaintive whistle, 

 diflScult to write down, as it commences without any initial consonant ; the word 

 diu which has been frequently used to express it, bears no resemblance whatever 

 to the sound; hi would be nearer, but is too abrupt; ivlicoxs abetter rendering. 



In the winter the Bullfinch becomes much less retiring, and more confiding 

 in its habits, frequenting gardens and orchards : and in its love for buds, par- 

 ticularl}' of fruit-trees, often doing considerable mischief: father, mother, and family, 

 sometimes taking up positions on the same tree, and going to work sj'stematicall}'. 

 Attempts have often been made by well-meaning Ornithologists to defend this 

 action on the part of the Bullfinch, by declaring (without a particle of evidence 

 in favour of the assertion) that the birds are in reality the fruit-grower's best 

 friends; inasmuch as they only select those buds which contain maggots. Such 

 utter nonsense could only be written by those who have not studied birds in 

 captivit}', and in large aviaries containing living shrubs and creepers. 



Seebohm was far more sensible than to perpetuate so flimsy an excuse, for 

 he says ; — " it is seldom respected by the gardener, who, in shooting it down, 

 makes bad worse, and does more damage in one discharge of his gun than a host 

 of Bullfinches would do in a week. Early in the 3'ear the bird may often be 

 seen on the branches of cherry-, plum-, apple-, and pear-trees, or on the twigs 

 of the gooseberry- and currant-bushes, and the ground is strewed with the cases 

 of the buds, marking out its course. Singularly enough the bird confines it 

 attentions to the flower-buds, those producing leaves being passed b}'. This 

 destructive habit of the Bullfinch cannot be defended or excused ; but further 

 research may prove that the bird is, after all, a real benefactor to the tree from 

 which it levies such a costly tribute." 



It does not strike me as singular that the Bullfinch should prefer the short 

 stout buds to the thin pointed ones, but that is a detail. One thing must be 

 borne in mind, however, that, in the older trees, if the Bullfinches reduce the 

 number of fruit buds, they save the gardener the trouble of pruning away super- 

 fluous fruit ; so that, as a matter of fact, the resulting crop may be just as good 

 in the end, though with less trouble to the grower. 



If 3'ou want a tree to die, there are few surer ways of killing it than by 



