HOUSE SPAEROW — HAWFINCH. 89 



twigs, their dark forms silhouetted against the moonhght. 

 When he sees a bird he lifts the net free of his head, and 

 dii'ects his assistants on the other side to beat with the poles ; 

 the frightened bird flying out is secured by a quick stroke of 

 the net, which is clapped together. The birds sometimes sit 

 so close that they have to be pushed off their perches. In this 

 way the birdcatchers will take twenty or thirty birds, and 

 often more, in a night. The species most commonly taken 

 are Blackbirds, Song Thrushes, Redwings, ChaSinches, Green- 

 finches, Linnets, Bullfinches, Tree Sparrows, and Long-tailed 

 Titmice; occasionally a Magpie is secured. Fieldfares are 

 very seldom taken, they are so wary, almost always flying 

 out before they can be approached. Although Yellow Ham- 

 mers roost in the hedges in hundreds comparatively few are 

 caught, as they can seldom be induced to fly out at the side of 

 the hedge but flutter up to the top before leaving it. House 

 Sparrows are taken round the ricks, cattle hovels, and in ivied 

 walls, being beaten out at random. Many villagers are 

 extremely fond of this diversion, and after a long day at 

 ploughing or other field work, will sally forth again in the 

 evening and range the frosty fields until nearly midnight. 



THE HAWFINCH. I * 



Coccolhranstes vulgaris. 



The Hawfinch was formerly considered to be merely a 

 winter visitor to this county, but of late years it has been 

 found to be a resident throughout the year, breeding sparingly 

 in many localities; at the same time, as will presently be 

 shown, in some winters, when they are unusually abundant, we 

 are visited by migratory individuals. 



In 1849 the Messrs. Matthews included the Hawfinch in 

 their list of residents, with some hesitation on account of its 

 rarity, but they mention its appearance at all times of the 

 year, and that its nest had been f oimd near Oxford [Zoologist, 

 p. 2429). A Hawfinches nest was taken many years ago close 



