194 BIRDS OF SOMERSETSHIRE. 
grey, and the greater part of the primaries is dusky 
rather than black; the tail the same, with only dull 
white spots on the tip of each feather. The young 
birds of the year have the head, neck and upper 
parts olive-brown; the white on the wing is less 
conspicuous; the throat yellow, bounded by a small 
line of brown spots, which indicate the outline of the 
black patch on the throat; rest of the under parts 
paler than the upper, each feather tipped with brown. 
This description of the young birds is taken from 
Yarrell and Mr. Doubleday’s paper. 
The egg of the Hawfinch is generally of a pale 
greenish ground, marked mostly at the thick end 
with spots and scrawls of dark dusky, almost black, 
and a lighter shade of dusky: some varieties are 
said to be almost, or quite, without spots. 
GoxpFincu, Carduelis elegans. ‘This, the most 
beautiful of all our Finches, is, I am glad to say, 
not very uncommon in these parts, but continues to 
keep up its numbers in spite of the repeated attacks 
of the bird-catchers, who come every spring in pur- 
suit of it, as it is much prized as a cage bird, both 
for its beauty and its song. It is easily kept in 
confinement. and, like the Siskin, it may be made to 
pair with the Canary. 
The Goldfinch is resident here throughout the 
year, flocking together in small flocks in the winter 
and spreading over the country in pairs in the 
breeding-season. It is generally a useful bird, both 
