60 OUR RESIDENT BIRDS 



darker shaft margins. Wings black with greenish yellow 

 bar. Rump yellow. Tail black towards tip, yellower 

 towards base. Two central feathers dusky. Throat 

 and breast yellow. Belly white streaked with dusky on 

 flanks. Bill light brown. Legs brown. Length 4^ in. 

 Female, a little smaller, duller, and no black on head ; 

 under parts more streaked. Young, still duller. 



Language. Song, a rapid and irregular twitter, finishing 

 with a harsh " chair." Call-note, " hoote-lee." 



Habits. Very active, and almost Tit-like in some ways. 

 Sociable. In the love-season the male soars up from his 

 perch and then descends to it with fluttering wings and 

 outspread tail. 



Food. Seeds of weeds, aphides, and caterpillars. 



Nest. April onwards. Two broods. * 



Site. At the top of some fir-tree, or at end of lateral 

 branch ; less frequently in bushes. 



Materials. Small fir-twigs, bents, heather, rootlets, 

 and moss, lined with fine grass, vegetable down, hair, 

 and sometimes feathers. 



Eggs. Four to six. Pale bluish green, spotted and 

 dotted with dark reddish brown. Much like Goldfinch's, 

 but rather smaller and bluer. 



BULLFINCH (Pyrrhula europaa). 



Generally distributed in well-wooded localities. More 

 local in Scotland. 



Haunts. Districts abounding in thick bushes and 

 hedges, near woods. Gardens and orchards in spring. 



Plumage. Head, throat, wings, and tail black. Back 

 bluish ash-grey. Sides of neck and under parts salmon- 

 red, except under tail-coverts, which are dull white. 

 Rump white and conspicuous in flight. Broad white 

 conspicuous band across wings. Bill black. Legs 

 dark brown. Length 6 in. Female, duller on upper 

 parts ; under parts dove-brown. Young, like female, 



