82 BIRDS OF CHESHIRE. 
even in the fir plantations and small clumps of trees 
high up on the hills of the East. In winter the bird 
is eminently sociable, and large flocks may be seen in 
the open fields, or feeding with Sparrows and Yellow 
Ammers in the farmyards. About the farmsteads in 
the Hill Country it is the commonest passerine bird, far 
outnumbering the House Sparrow. These flocks break 
up during February and March, and in mild weather 
we have heard the cheery song of the Chaffinch as early 
as February 13th. 
The exquisitely neat nest is generally placed in a 
whitethorn hedge, or in the fork of a birch or fruit 
tree, the mosses and lichens of which it is con- 
structed harmonising with its surroundings. Incon- 
gruous materials are, however, sometimes used, and 
we once found a nest at Plumbley principally composed 
of old newspaper. Exceptionally, the bird builds at a 
considerable height in a forest tree, a nest which we 
saw near Goyts Bridge being placed on a lateral branch 
of an oak at least forty feet from the ground. 
On April 38rd, 1884, Oldham saw two Chaffnches 
fighting on a garden lawn at Sale. The combatants 
were surrounded by half a dozen other birds, passively 
watching the fray. Presently the bird which was 
obviously getting the better of its opponent retired, 
and its place was taken by another. After a short 
scuflle the aggressor and the onlookers flew away, 
leaving the victim, a hen bird, motionless upon the 
ground. It was in a pitiable condition, its plumage 
being saturated with the morning dew, and its head 
and neck stripped of feathers; but after being placed 
for a couple of hours before a fire, it recovered 
sufficiently to fly away when taken into the open air. 
Although it does not display the dexterity of the 
