I04 BULLFINCH. 



under parts are brick red^ shading into pure white 

 towards the rump. 



When the breeding season arrives,* the Bullfinch 

 seeks the dense plantations and shrubberies for a site 

 for his nest, and by his silence and retiring habits, 

 does his best to conceal its whereabouts. It is 

 usually commenced about the middle of April. A very 

 favourite position for it is in a low blackthorn, holly, 

 or young fir, while in Hampshire I have more fre- 

 quently found it in the boughs of a thick yew bush. 



Although by young collectors the eggs may possibly 

 be confused with those of other species, yet there is 

 no difficulty in recognising the nest of the Bullfinch. 

 It is a very beautiful, though loosely woven structure. 

 The foundation is made of small twigs, and the nest 

 being rather flat, it reminds one somewhat on the 

 outside of a very small Dove's nest. The inside of 

 the nest is formed chiefly of rootlets, and sometimes 

 a little lining of wool, hair, or moss is added. 



The eggs, four to six in number, are pale greenish 

 blue in ground colour, spotted and streaked with dark 

 purple red, and with some larger and paler blotches. 

 These markings are variously distributed, but in most 

 cases they form a zone round the larger end. 



As we said above, the Bullfinch is very easily re- 

 conciled to confinement, but care should be taken 

 not to give it too much hemp seed. Gilbert White 

 mentions an instance of a cock bird which he saw in 

 a cage ; it had been caught in the fields after it had 

 attained its full colours. In about a year it began to 

 look dingy, and blackening each succeeding year, it 

 became coal black at the end of four. Its chief food 

 was hemp seed. 



* It seems most probable that the Bullfinch pairs for life, as 

 at all seasons of the year they are found in pairs. 



