BULLFINCH. 87 
Cheshire. We used to find nests at Carrington in the 
thick growth of ling that fringed the moss-ditches. 
In winter the Twite forsakes the higher moors; and 
though possibly it occurs on the Plain at this season, 
we have no positive evidence of the fact; and the bird 
has never been recorded from Wirral at any season. 
When the birds are pairing in spring, we have 
watched the male showing-off before the female. 
Perched on a stone wall or heap of turf, he repeatedly 
opens and depresses his wings in order to display the 
rose-red feathers of the rump, 
BULLFINCH. 
PYRRHULA EUROPA, Vieillot. 
The Bullfinch, a fairly common resident in the low- 
lands of Cheshire, often escapes observation owing to 
its shy and retiring habits, for during the greater part 
of the year it courts the seclusion of the dense woods 
and thickets. It is, naturally, rarer on the Eastern 
Hills, although Mr. N. Neave has observed it occasion- 
ally at Rainow in winter, and Mr. K. H. Jones informs 
us that in the neighbourhood of Disley it is not un- 
common in the autumn. 
In spring the Bullfinch becomes bolder, and by feed- 
ing on the fruit-buds does considerable damage in 
orchards and gardens. When attacking an apple or 
pear tree the birds commence operations at the junction 
of a branch and the trunk, and working systematically 
outwards, destroy every fruit-bud on the thicker part 
of the branch, leaving those at the extremities of the 
slender twigs untouched. They become so engrossed 
while thus engaged, that they may be readily 
