BULLFINCH. 



reluctantly I must say, to make war on tliem every spring." 

 From various authorities it appears that the Bullfinch is a 

 more decided bud-destroyer than any other British Bird. In 

 winter it feeds on hips, the fruit of the dog-rose, berries, and 

 seeds. Towards the end of April this bird leaves the gar- 

 dens for more secluded situations, and begins with its mate 

 to seek a place of security for its nest. Being rather a late 

 breeder, it seldom begins to build till the beginning of May, 

 and produces but one brood in the season. The nest is 

 formed of small twigs, and lined with fibrous roots, the ma- 

 terials not very compactly entwined together, and usually 

 placed, four or five feet above the ground, on a branch of a 

 fir tree, or in a thick bush. The eggs are four or five in 

 number, of a pale blue, speckled and streaked with purplish 

 grey and dark purple. These are hatched towards the end 

 of JNIay, after fifteen days' incubation. The shy and retiring 

 habits of the Bullfinch have been already referred to, and it 

 is known that a slight provocation will in general cause it to 

 desert its nest ; but W. H. R. Read, Esq. of Frickley Hall 

 in Yorkshire, has recorded in the Naturalist that in the early 

 part of June 1838, a Bullfinch allowed herself to be caressed 

 while sitting on her young ones, and would feed from the 

 hand without the least fear. The nest was in a laurel-bush, 

 close to the house. Mr. Neville Wood has recorded the 

 finding of an egg of the Bullfinch on the ground in Yorkshire 

 so late as the 15th of November. 



The young birds of the year continue to associate with the 

 parents through the autumn and winter till the pairing time 

 of the following spring ; and so constant is the attachment of 

 adult birds throughout the year, that they are believed, like 

 some other species among birds, to pair for life. The Bull- 

 finch will breed in confinement, particularly in aviaries where 

 there is sufficient space. Hybrids, or mules, as they are 

 more commonly called, have been produced between the 



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