FINCHES AND OTHER SMALL BIRDS. 



141 



The greenfinch feeds its young on soft seeds, and by thus 

 destroying countless weeds it is of great service to the 

 gardener and agriculturist. Later on in the year, however, 

 it unites in large flocks with the chaffinch and other finches 

 and small birds, and they may do 

 much damage to sowings in the 

 forest. 



The chaffinch is extremely fond 

 of coniferous seeds, those of the 

 pine, spruce, and larch, and bites 

 off young cotyledons of conifers as 

 long as they are covered by the 

 testa. It also eats beech-nuts, 

 and the cotyledons of beech- 

 seedlings. 



The brambling appears in the 

 late autumn and winter in large 

 flights -like clouds, and attacks 

 beech-nuts and coniferous seeds. 

 De Montbeliard states that in 

 1765, after a good beech-mast 

 year, for several nights 600 dozens 

 were killed near the Rhine, and 

 de la Fontaine computes a flight 

 of bramblings in Luxemburg in 

 February, 1865, at 60 millions. 

 Stevenson in March, 1865, saw a 

 flock of bramblings near Slough 

 which passed him without inter- 

 mission for 35 minutes. Both 

 this species and the chaffinch are 

 extremely destructive to coniferous 

 and beech sowings, and to natural 



reproduction of beech, which it is extremely difficult to guard 

 against them. 



The siskin also appears in great numbers, and prefers the 

 seeds of the alder, but also attacks sowings of birch, spruce, 

 silver-fir, larch, and other conifers. Something may be said 

 in favour of the finches on account of their destruction of 



Fig. 54. Spruce-cone attacked by 

 crossbill. 



