BULLFINCH 



NOPE POPE ALP HOOP COMMON BULLFINCH. 



PLATE XCI. 



Loxia pyrrhula, .... LINNAEUS. 

 Pyrrhula vulgaris, .... FLEMING. SELBY. 



'HPO WARDS the end of April the birds pair, and nidifi- 

 A cation is commenced in the beginning of May, and 

 is finished by the end of that month, or the early part 

 of June. 



The nest, small and shallow, is formed of small twigs, 

 commonly those of the birch, beech or hornbeam, and is 

 lined with fine roots, grass, wool, and hair, the whole being 

 rather carelessly built and not firmly compacted ; in some 

 instances moss is added. The middle part is more care- 

 fully finished and of the finest of the materials. It is 

 generally placed low, either in a tree, such as a fir, or in 

 the middle of a bush or other underwood, frequently a 

 hawthorn, at a height of four or five feet from the ground. 

 It is often built in an evergreen, a cover, plantation, or 

 shrubbery, even near a house, commonly in a wood, and 

 occasionally, though but seldom, in a garden. They will 

 breed in confinement, especially if they have ample room. 



The eggs, four to six in number, are clear greenish 

 blue, speckled and streaked with purple grey, and dark 



