THE FINCHES 1551 



has, however, some soft and plaintive notes which, once heard, will always be re- 

 membered with pleasure. Nor is this bird devoid of imitative talent, becoming ex- 

 cessively tame and confiding, and having been known to reproduce the song of the 

 canary. Yarrell states that the greenfinch is a late breeder, but while fresh eggs 

 may sometimes be found in a nest as late as the month of September, we once saw 

 a newly-fledged greenfinch taking short flights from bough to bough as early as the 

 nineteenth of May. The greenfinch builds a coarse, untidy nest of fibrous roots, 

 moss, and wool, lined with finer roots, horsehair, and a few feathers. A remarkable 

 combination of two nests of the greenfinch built on a single platform, and placed in 

 a large ornamental heath, is recorded by Gurney. The greenfinch is fond of build- 

 ing in the neighborhood of water, hence the young birds occasionally tumble out of 

 the nest and are drowned. The eggs are white, spotted with reddish brown and 

 gray. The greenfinch not unfrequently pairs with the canary in confinement, and 

 in a wild state occasionally mates with the goldfinch. The hybrids resulting from 

 the latter cross most resemble the greenfinch in shape and color, but the head and 

 wings never fail to show the goldfinch blood. The greenfinch also interbreeds with 

 the linnet, and in confinement has produced offspring by pairing with the bullfinch 

 and twite. During the autumn greenfinches range the fields in large flocks, feeding 

 on the seeds of wild mustard and many other pests of the husbandman. The male 

 greenfinch is olive yellow above, overshaded with ashy gray; the under surface of 

 the body being yellow. The South-European form is smaller and brighter than the 

 birds which breed in the British Isles and Northern Europe. Yellow, black, white, 

 and cinnamon varieties of the greenfinch have come under our notice. 



The hawfinches are readily distinguished by their large and clumsy 

 bills, which are adapted to enable them to feed upon hard kernels. 

 Hawfinches are found in suitable localities throughout Europe and Siberia. The 

 Japanese form is paler and lighter in color than the European (Coccothraustes 

 vulgaris); while Hume's hawfinch (C. kumei) is an Indian species, differing from 

 the European birds in having a lighter and less richly-colored head, and by the 

 sides of the body being pale tawny or orange brown instead of vinaceous. The 

 hawfinch is a well-known bird in many parts of Europe, and is locally distributed 

 over England, although rarely visiting Scotland, and uncommon in Ireland. 

 It frequents the skirts of forests, especially where hornbeam flourishes, since it 

 feeds on the seeds of that tree. Seldom seen in open country, it resides in gar- 

 dens and orchards, especially during the summer months; its flight being rapid 

 and undulating. The male should be seen in bright sunshine, if his beauty of 

 plumage is to be appreciated; the light being admirably adapted to burnish 

 up his deep brown back and blue-black wings. The hawfinch is a shy bird, and 

 seldom courts attention; when alarmed, its first action is to crouch close to the 

 branch upon which it happens to be perching, so as, if possible, to escape un- 

 noticed. Mr. Seebohm remarks that "the hawfinch is not much of a songster. It 

 has few notes, which can scarcely be called more than a low chatter. There is 

 nothing very striking in its performance; but when several are twittering away 

 together the general effect is very pleasant. Its call note is said to resemble the 

 well-known zh of the greenfinch. The hawfinch pairs about the middle of April, 



