76 Transactions. 



on my hand, and eats his breakfast of oaten cake broken 

 into crumbs. With all his habits of familiarity, it is not 

 easy to get Robin to do this. We have also with us at 

 Mountainhall a hen Chaffinch or Shilfa, whose tameness is 

 even more peculiar than Bob's. She was bred close beside 

 the house in 1863. All last winter, and especially in spring, 

 when the natural food of birds gets scanty, she was very 

 much about the door, and ventured often into the lobby. 

 She was gradually brought to take food from the hand ; and 

 when she was hatching, and came down to me from her nest, 

 eager for supplies, I put the bit of cake in my mouth, and 

 she flew straight to my face and took it. When her young 

 were out, she took none of the cake to them in the nest, but 

 fed them with the small green caterpillars from the leaves. 

 When the fledglings had got to the garden, however, she 

 followed me assiduously for the cake, hovering about my face 

 till I got it into my mouth, and then made off with it to her 

 young ones. I may remark here that oaten bread is pre- 

 ferred by the birds to every other kind : there is much flint 

 in the oat for the bones, and the instinct of birds may like 

 it accordingly. When her brood were dismissed to take 

 charge of themselves, Tibbie (for such is the name we have 

 given our little friend) continued to be very familiar with 

 the people of the house ; and often, when I was leaning on 

 the gate, the breadth of a field away from our avenue, she 

 came and sat down on the gate beside me. Once, but only 

 once, she allowed me to touch her with my forefinger. After 

 a proper interval, she dressed up her old nest (not a very 

 common thing), and brought out a second brood in it. About 

 the middle of July, Tibbie began to be much away from us, 

 yet visiting us from time to time. For the cake she seemed 

 no longer to care : I suppose she was getting food in the fields 

 which she liked better. I have seen the flock of Chaffinches 

 repeatedly in our upper grounds; and have noticed, in 

 accordance with White of Selbome's observation, that the 

 most of them are hens. One day lately, when I was by a 

 bit of paling up in one of the fields, I saw Tibbie detach 



