WALL-CREEPER. 61 



Mr. W. Naylor of Whalley. Large slugs had been used 

 to kill it, and it was so mangled that Mr. Naylor could 

 not determine the sex, and had great difficulty in making 

 it at all presentable. The specimen came into my 

 possession. 



[The above now forms part of the collection of Mr. J. 

 Whitaker, of Eainworth Lodge, Notts. See " An Illus- 

 trated Manual of British Birds," p. Ill, for a concise 

 account of this species ; to which I may add that the 

 Wall-Creeper is now known to wander, not infrequentl}^ 

 to Normandy. — Ed.] 



FAMILY FEINGILLID.E.— SUBFAMILY FRINGILLIN.E. 

 GENUS CARDUELIS. 



GOLDFINCH. 



Carduelis elegans, Stephens. 



Local Names — Flinch, Redcap, 



Resident, but so decreased in numbers as to be almost 

 extinct. The march of agriculture is one great reason 

 for this ; waste lands where thistles (the seed of which , 

 especially of Centaur ea nic/ra, L., is its favourite food), 

 groundsel and nettles used to grow in plent}', being now 

 so largely brought under cultivation. The bird-catcher 

 too (or as he is more commonly called the " tuttler " 

 or " touter," i.e. one who entices), is the deadly enemy 

 of the Goldfinch, and any stray individuals are at once 

 captured to satisfy the exigencies of the demand from 

 the large towns. I have few records of any nests for 

 the last twenty years, but before that time Mr. "W. 

 Peterkin says the Goldfinch used to breed regularly near 

 Clitheroe, and was not at all scarce, while Mr. J. B. 



