158 CHAFFINCH. 



are afterwards kept alive and fed for the use of the table. 

 Their nests are formed in bushes, or low hedges ; and 

 they have two broods in the course of the summer, each 

 consisting of four or five young ones. These birds are not 

 found in any part of the British Islands. Their song is 

 pleasant, and they are sometimes kept in cages, as sing- 

 ing-birds. 



The head and neck are of a cinereous olive colour ; 

 and th$ feathers of the back and the scapulars are 

 brownish-bay, black in the middle. The chin is yel- 

 lowish, surrounded with a cinereous line. The under 

 parts of the body are reddish. The quill-feathers are 

 brown, the three first whitish at the edges. The tail- 

 feathers are brown, and the two lateral ones black on the 

 outer side. 



21. FINCH TRIBE. 



The Finches are a numerous and active race, dispersed 

 very widely over the world. They feed principally on 

 insects and grain. 



Chaffinch. This is a well-known bird in every part of 

 our island. In winter the females collect together in vast 

 numbers, with scarcely any males among them. Their 

 song is pleasing, and, in a cage, is usually continued 

 through nearly nine months of the year. They have 

 young ones about the beginning of May. The nest is 

 elegantly formed of green moss, small sticks, withered 

 grass, and hair, on the outside ; and the inside lined with 

 feathers, hair, and wool. The female usually lays four 

 eggs, which are of a whitish colour, with a few large 

 reddish-brown spots, and some small specks and streaks 

 towards the larger end. 



