HAWFINCH. 269 



of oak, honeysuckle, &c. lined with fine roots 

 and a little hair, the whole very loosely put to- 

 gether. The eggs, from four to six, are of a pale 

 olive green, spotted with black, and irregulary 

 marked with dusky brown. During winter they 

 congregate in flocks, but at pairing time separate 

 again. The song is of little compass ; and Mr 

 Doubleday states that, like the Linnets about 

 the season of separation, they congregate on 

 a tree, and utter a few notes in a soft tone, 

 having some resemblance to those of a Bullfinch. 

 According to Mr Yarrell, however, it possesses 

 considerable imitative powers, for he states, on 

 the authority of Mr Bartlet, that a female " sung 

 the notes of the Linnet. But being afterwards 

 hung out of doors, it learned to imitate the song 

 of a blackbird."* 



The occurrence of the Hawfinch in other parts 

 of England, so far as our information goes, is 

 confined to straggling parties or individuals, but 

 the attention of our ornithologists may perhaps 

 discover other breeding stations besides Epping 

 and Windsor, and the vicinity of Wolverhampton, 

 where we have also records of its nidification. 

 In the north it is a straggler, but has been 

 killed and seen in the counties of Durham and 

 Cumberland, reaching across the border to 

 Dumfriesshire ; farther north in Britain we do 

 not know of its occurrence. In Ireland we have 

 the authority of Mr Thompson for its occasional 

 appearance. In the north of Europe it appears 

 * Yarrell, British Birds, i. p. 486. 



