CHAFFINCH 5l 



or piping note. It is incessant when it once 

 begins, and to me is very disagreeable. I have 

 a friend who dislikes the note of the chiffchaff, 

 but that can hardly be called a song. I do not 

 at all dislike its contented little ' chiffchaff, ' 

 though at times it may become rather wearisome ; 

 but the note of the chaffinch is coarse and harsh. 

 Besides being plebeian and inharmonious, the 

 chaffinch is, I think, less useful than the other 

 birds. I never see it eating the green blight on 

 the rose-trees, as all the other birds do. Perhaps 

 it is too heavy to hang on a rose spray ; but it 

 cannot be only that, for the heavy sparrows do a 

 great deal of good in that way. Perhaps they do 

 not like it ; but it seems to me that, generally, 

 birds will eat anything eatable that they can get. 



It is curious that the old cock chaffinch, who 

 is so tame that he flies to the window directly he 

 sees me there, and begs for a bit of bacon, and 

 almost takes it out of my hand, is still afraid of 

 the white plate. I see it sometimes, if it cannot 

 get anything in any other way, approach it very 

 shyly, and then dart at a bit and fly away as if it 

 were red-hot ; it must have had some experience 

 quite special and peculiar of danger or difficulty 

 attached to something white. It is by far the 

 most intelligent bird of all, as well as the most 

 bold and hungry. Just now it is extremely busy 



