AND NEIGHBOURHOOD. 181 



used by that bird, being built externally of green 

 moss, with small strips of birch-bark, and lined with, 

 I believe, human hair, a little wool, and a few 

 feathers, amongst which latter is one from the breast 

 of the Goshawk. The eggs, five in number, are not to 

 be distinguished in colour and markings from those 

 of the Chaffinch, but are rather more pointed at the 

 smaller end than average eggs of that species. The 

 above-mentioned nest w^as taken from a birch tree at 

 about twelve feet from the ground. The Brambling 

 is a common winter visitor to the south of Europe, 

 and is well known at that season in certain parts of 

 Andalucia. I did not meet with it in Algeria. A 

 female of this species came aboard my yacht in 

 November 1873, in the middle of the Bay of Biscay, 

 about halfway between Ushant and Cape Finisterre. 

 I have kept several of these birds caged ; but, 

 beyond their beauty, they have few attractions, and I 

 never succeeded in making them really tame or in 

 any degree familiar. 



80. TREE-SPARROW. 



Passer montanus. 



This species is tolerably common, and breeds in 

 many parts of North Northamptonshire. In the 

 winter months the Tree-Sparrow may be found in 

 considerable numbers about our hedgerows and 

 stackyards in company with House-Sparrows and the 

 various species of Finch which resort thither at that 

 season, but in the spring these birds separate from 

 their congeners, and are to be found nesting generally 

 in small colonies of three or four pairs in old hollow 



