66 BIKDS OF LANCASHIRE. 



flocks, fifteen to twenty-five birds being counted in one 

 tree, but being very shy and wary. Should this 

 handsome bird continue to show a disposition to breed, 

 it is sincerely to be hoped that it may remain un- 

 molested. 



[According to notes recently furnished by Mr. E. J. 

 Howard and Mr, W. F. Brockholes, the Hawfinch is 

 still increasing generally. It may be met with in con- 

 siderable numbers near Chorley from December to the 

 end of March ; while many instances of nesting are 

 recorded. The following from Mr. Howard deserves 

 quotation in full :— '' The irides, in a live bird, are not 

 greyish-white but vinaceous. On August 7th, 1884, 

 my male Merlin dashed from his bath at the Hawfinch 

 which Billington brought from Eedcar. I picked the 

 bird from the cage-floor, as it was dying, and paid 

 particular attention to the colour of the irides ; the 

 bright madder-brown got gradually lighter, until at 

 last— before the bird was cold — it had faded away, and 

 the colour could only be described as greyish- white. I 

 had often held the bird in my hand, so that I could 

 closely examine the eyes, and found the colour arranged 

 in concentric circles, those near the pupil being 

 brightest ; the intensity of colour varied when I teased 

 the bird."— Ed.] 



GENUS PASSEE. 



HOUSE-SPAEEOW. 



Passer domesticus (Linnaeus). 



Eesident, and exceedingly abundant everywhere. Its 

 nest is most commonlv fixed in holes in buildings, but, 



