THE BULLFINCH. 187 



are not at all a sign that it builds a neat and well made 

 nest. Slovenly indeed is the cradle of the Bullfinch : 

 placed often in the branches of the yew tree, in the 

 closest whitethorn bushes, or amongst the tangled 

 vegetation of the brake, the nest in the first place is 

 made of grasses, rootlets, moss, and twigs, loosely put 

 together ; while the inside is lined with fibrous roots, 

 and sometimes wool and feathers, or even vegetable 

 down. The eggs are four or five in number, bluish- 

 green in ground colour, spotted with purplish-red, some- 

 times forming a zone round the larger end. The male 

 bird is seldom seen in the nesting season, and the female 

 keeps out of sight as much as possible, and leaves her 

 nest upon the slightest alarm, and flits silently into 

 the cover. Indeed, you may wander near the nesting 

 grounds of the Bullfinch and be totally unaware of it, 

 for the birds are probably more shy and retiring in their 

 manner than the shyest and most retiring of the bashful 

 little warblers themselves. When the young leave the 

 nest they are soon abandoned by their parents, though 

 in some cases it is probable they remain in company 

 during the winter, and this explains the circumstance of 

 seeing the birds in little parties at that season. The 

 moulting season of the Bullfinch is passed over in gloomy 

 silence, and we seldom see the birds again until Novem- 

 ber's blasts have stripped the hedgerows of their leafy 

 covering. 



The food of the Bullfinch in summer is partly com- 

 posed of insects, and it will occasionally hover above 

 various plants, and secure the insects and beetles upon 

 their leaves. The greater part of the year, however, the 

 Bullfinch depends on vegetable matter for support. He 

 will visit various forest and orchard trees and prey upon 

 their buds ; he will frequent the hawthorn hedges and 



