90 BRITISH BIRDS. 
The food of the Goldfinch is composed principally of insects and their 
larvee in summer ; but in winter this bird is almost, if not quite, granivorous, 
At this season it feeds on seeds of various kinds, especially on those of 
the dock and the thistle; it also eats those of the dandelion, chickweed, 
groundsel, and plantain. In winter the birds are often seen in small 
parties, sometimes in large flocks, which are ever wandering about in 
search of food. No frost or snow, however severe, seems to inconvenience 
this charming little bird, for it can always find plenty of food on the tall 
weeds that tower high above the deepest snow. It is a very pretty sight 
to see a party of Goldfinches searching for food, especially when the 
ground is covered deep in snow. You may approach them quite closely 
and they will take but little heed of your presence. You may watch how 
deftly they poise on the thistle-heads or cling, sometimes head downwards, 
to the bushy docks. Beneath the plants the husks are thickly strewed 
upon the snow, and betray the recent presence of these charming creatures 
in the locality. They are very restless birds and do not stay long in one 
place; they are incessantly flittimg on and on, from one stem to another, 
in drooping jerking flight, and the air is filled with their clear twittering 
notes. 
A considerable number of Goldfinches remain with us throughout the 
winter; but most of them go southwards in autumn, in company with 
migrants from North Europe that pass our islands. Our Goldfinches 
appear to fly south until they strike the coast, which they follow, “ cuddling 
the cliffs,’ until the narrowest part of the Channel is reached near 
Dover, where they start for the continent. 
The wholesale capture of this bird is no doubt one of the causes of its 
decrease in numbers. Mr. Swaysland states that near Brighton a hoy 
could formerly catch as many as forty dozen of these birds in a single 
morning ; but this wholesale work soon perceptibly thinned the ranks of 
the Goldfinch, and the bird is now comparatively rare. ‘The Goldfinch is 
in great request as a cage-bird, and may be taught many tricks; it is also 
used considerably by Canary-breeders to cross with that bird. 
The Goldfinch has a black band from the centre of the crown of 
the head, which meets on the nape a similar black band reaching half- 
way round the neck. The feathers at the base of the bill and the lores 
are black ; the forehead and throat are rich scarlet ; the rest of the upper 
parts are reddish brown, shading into white on the upper tail-coverts; a 
patch on the nape and the sides of the head and the underparts below the 
throat are dull white, shading into buffy brown on the breast and flanks ; 
the wings are black, broadly barred with yellow and tipped with white ; 
the tail is black, the two outer feathers on each side (occasionally the three 
outer feathers) have a spot of white on the inner web and the rest are tipped 
with white. Bill pinkish white, darkest at the tip; legs and feet fleshy 
