OF THE BIRDS MENTIONED 229 
greenish-brown spots, and black streaks at larger end. 
Five or six. 
6. LINNET 
(Pages 84-90) 
Linota cannabina. Fr., Linot, a linnet, from the 
Lat. root linum, flax, also Gr., cannabis, hemp; these 
two words duplicating the name and referring to the 
food of the birds. One of the finch tribe. General 
description, size and plumage : A lively little bird, rather 
smaller than asparrow. Length: 54to6inches. Looks 
brown and black on upper parts, lighter beneath. Seen 
close the tips of the wings and tail are black, edged with 
white. The wild male bird has a crimson crown, fore- 
head and breast. (This crimson is lost in captivity.) 
The colours are lighter in the female and she has no 
crimson. They are constantly chirping one to the 
other, either flying or when sitting as they often do 
on bush tops. + They are favourite cage birds and large 
numbers of males are captured for their song, which 
is beautiful and varied. Found: Widely distributed, 
chiefly on waste lands where weeds abound, from which 
they get their seed food. Also much amongst furze. 
Habits: Sociable. Go about in small companies even 
at nesting time, but assemble in large flocks in autumn 
1 Distinguish the Twite, much like it, but has a yellow beak. 
