THE GREENFINCH. 49 



secondaries square and slightly notched. Tail fairly deeply 

 forked, inner webs being cut off at sharp angle. Bill short, wide 

 and very deep, tapering sharply at point. A few gape-bristles. 



Soft parts. — Bill whitish-flesh, tip dark brown -.legs and feet 

 pale flesh ; iris brown. 



Characters and allied forms. — C. c. aurantiiventris (south 

 Europe and north Africa) is brighter above and more golden 

 below, and" C. c. chlorotica (Syria) is still brighter and smaller, 

 C. c. madaraszi (Corsica, Sardinia) is somewhat darker and more 

 brownish, also slightly smaller, C. c. muhlei (Greece to Bosnia and 

 Servia, Italy) is similarly small, but lighter, C. c. turkestanica 

 (Turkestan) is said to be larger, and C. c. bilkewitchi (north Persia) 

 is said to be smaller again, but unknown to us. Heavy bill and 

 yellow on wings and tail are specific characters. 



Field-characters. — Large flesh-coloured bill and olive-green 

 plumage with a strongly contrasted yellow patch on primaries 

 at once distinguish it wdien at rest. In flight, most conspicuous 

 characteristics are yellow rump and bright yellow patches at 

 base of tail-feathers. Call-note of male, a long-drawn " dwee," 

 uttered with tiresome iteration from early spring through summer. 

 Another note, equally persistent, is " pee-wee." The song, a 

 warbhng twitter in which call-not« " dwee " is often introduced, 

 lacks distinction ; is often uttered as bird flies in circles with 

 slowly flapping wings. 



Breeding-habits. — ^Nests in hedge-rows, evergreens, and bushes, 

 large numbers sometimes breeding close to one another. Excep- 

 tionally in large trees or among ivy. Nest. — Built of twigs and 

 moss, mixed with few bents, bits of wool, etc., usually lined roots 

 and hair but sometimes feathers are freely used. Eggs. — 4-6, 

 rarely 7 or 8 ; ground-colour dirty white to pale greenish-blue, 

 generally rather sparingly spotted and streaked red-brown and 

 pale violet shell-marks ; some \A'ith zone of spots, others thickly 

 spotted or with no markings. Variable in shape and size. Average 

 of 101 eggs, 20.2 X 14.5 mm. Breeding-season. — Begins late April 

 or early May. Young sometimes in nest late as September. 

 Incubation. — Lasts 13-14 days. Fledging-period. — 13 days. At 

 least two broods. 



Food. — Mainly seeds (corn and many weeds), also turnip-seed, 

 yew-berries, and buds of fruit trees. Young are fed partly on 

 insects (larvae of lepidoptera, diptera) and spiders, and partly on 

 pulp of broken seeds. 



Distribution. — British Isles. — Resident. Common most parts, 

 but only a visitor to Shetlands and most 0. Hebrides, though it 

 breeds Stornoway (Lewis). 



Migrations. — British Isles. — Many home-bred birds emigrate 



e 



