174 BIRDS. 



crown to make him, especially when the tail grows its 

 white edges, at least attractive, while the song is superior 

 to that of any other member of the group. For this 

 reason the linnet is a favourite cage-bird, and it must 

 be admitted that few take more kindly to captivity, only 

 it would be well if folks who keep these little prisoners 

 could only bear in mind that they have the greatest 

 objection to being exposed the livelong day to the full 

 glare of the sun. At best, the surroundings of captive 

 birds are the most hopeless parody of natural conditions, 

 but a very slight attention to detail of this nature may 

 go far to minimise their discomfort. The food of the 

 linnet consists largely of oily seeds, also charlock, with 

 some berries in autumn. Its nest of twigs and moss, 

 lined with wool and hair, sometimes feathers, is found 

 by the middle of April in trees and bushes surrounding 

 commons and other open land. Eggs, 4 to 6, ^ inch; dirty 

 white, with a belt of brown spots around the larger end. 



The Mealy Redpoll is a winter visitor to Scotland, less 



often met with in England, and only twice recorded from 



t Mealy Ireland. The breast is reddish, striped with 



Kedpoll. brown, the forehead is crimson, the throat 



black, and there is some white in the wings. A larger 



race, regarded by Dr Sharpe as a sub-species, has been 



taken twice in Norfolk. 



The Lesser Redpoll, the smallest British member of the 

 family, is a resident in most parts, but becomes local in 

 Lesser the breeding-season, absenting itself from the 

 Redpoll. S outh-west and from parts of Scotland. In 

 the home counties it breeds regularly. It is a smaller 

 and darker bird than the last, and lacks the white mark- 

 ings on the wings. Dr Sharpe recognises a sub-species 

 in the larger Greenland straggler, one occurrence of which 

 was recorded many years ago in Northumberland. It feeds 

 on seeds. The nest, placed at no great height in bushes and 



