A HISTORY OF SUFFOLK 



evicts them from their nests and takes pos- 

 session. Gilbert White of Selborne seems to 

 have been the first to notice this, as he writes : 

 ' When the house - sparrows deprive my 

 martins of their nests, as soon as I cause one 

 to be shot, the other, be it cock or hen, 

 presently procures a mate, and so on for 

 several times following.' Young martins, 

 doubtless the third brood, are sometimes seen 

 in the nest as late as October. 



58. Sand-Martin. Cotile riparia (Linn.) 

 Locally, Pit-Martin. 



Also a summer migrant, arriving before the 

 swallow, and breeding in large colonies in 

 gravel-pits and sand-pits, also in the sides of 

 railway cuttings. Near Brandon it has been 

 known to excavate its nesting-holes in a very 

 large heap of sawdust (F. Norgate). 



59. Greenfinch. Ligurinus chloris, Linn. 

 Locally, Green Linnet. 



A common resident, breeding everywhere^ 

 and congregating in large flocks during the 

 winter on stubbles and in stack-yards. 



60. Hawfinch. Coccothraustes vulgaris, Pallas. 

 A resident, not uncommon, and perhaps 



breeding more numerously in the vicinity of 

 Bury than in any other part of the county. 

 The nest, much resembling that of the bull- 

 finch, but larger, and always containing more 

 or less grey lichen, is usually found in thorns, 

 apple trees, or on the branches of firs at some 

 distance from the trunk. Few eggs are more 

 beautiful when fresh, but the delicate tints of 

 olive and purple soon disappear when they are 

 blown. The hawfinch is easily recognized 

 when flying by the display of white on the 

 wings and tail, and is a troublesome bird in 

 kitchen gardens, where (as an old gardener 

 used to say), ' they play hack wi' the peas.' 

 This bird sometimes comes quite up to a 

 house for food, and at Tostock a few years 

 ago a fine old male was killed by a cat close 

 to the front door of the rectory, but too much 

 damaged to be of any use as a specimen. 



61. Goldfinch. Carduelis elegans, Stephens. 

 Locally, King Harry, Redcap and Thistle 



Finch. 



This lovely little bird is a resident, though 

 less common than it used to be. Being much 

 in request as a cage-bird many are taken by 

 bird-catchers and many nests robbed of the 

 joung. 



62. Siskin. Carduelis spinus (Linn.) 



A winter migrant, usually frequenting 

 alder trees. In the summer of 1902 the 



siskin was observed in west Suffolk under 

 circumstances which suggest that it may have 

 bred. 



63. Serin Finch. Serinus hortulanus, K. L. 



Koch. 

 A very rare summer visitant, which has 

 only occurred two or three times. In colour- 

 ing and size it is not unlike the siskin, but 

 has a stouter bill, and is never likely to be 

 met with in the winter. 



64. House-Sparrow. Passer domesticus (Linn.) 

 A too common resident, which might be 



numbered among the ' extinct breeders ' with- 

 out causing general regret. Destructive alike 

 in gardens and cornfields, blocking up troughs 

 with its untidy nest, doing much damage to 

 thatch, and (as before stated) the enemy of 

 the martin, there is little to be said in its 

 fiivour. ' Introduced, like the rabbit, through 

 officious ignorance, in Australia, New Zealand 

 and the United States, it has become such a 

 curse that special legislation has been loudly 

 invoked for its destruction ' (Saunders' Manual, 

 p. 180). The only methods of reducing the 

 numbers of the sparrow without the destruc- 

 tion of other birds seem to be by netting it 

 in stacks and ivy, and by taking every nest 

 which can be got at when the young are 

 hatched, not when there are eggs. The use of 

 poisoned grain is illegal, and also attended 

 with serious risks not only to other birds, but 

 also to poultry, pigs and cats ; while if a 

 shot is fired into the great flocks of birds 

 which assemble in stack-yards in hard weather 

 after corn has been thrashed out, robins, tits 

 and other harmless birds will usually be killed 

 with the sparrows. Birds like the hedge- 

 sparrow, whose usual food consists of insects, 

 will often pick up grain in the winter, possibly 

 for purposes of digestion as well as for food. 

 The house-sparrow often builds in colonies in 

 the branches of trees, and when these are 

 bare in winter the nests convey the idea of a 

 small rookery. 



65. Tree-Sparrow. Passer montanus (Linn.) 

 A pretty little resident, as harmless as its 



larger relative is destructive. In addition to 

 those which breed here, many tree-sparrows 

 come ' over the water ' to the east coast in 

 autumn. The nest is usually built in holes 

 of trees, and has often been found in a nest- 

 box. Fresh eggs have been found as late as 

 August, and a clutch nearly always contains 

 an 'odd egg' very lightly marked in compari- 

 son with the others. A cross between this 

 bird and the house-sparrow was shot in a 

 farm-yard at Tostock in 1894, whicii was 



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