When Chaffinches Flock 



THE matter of the autumnal flocking of chaffinches 

 is a very puzzling one. The old Swedish naturalist, 

 great lover of flowers and birds, Linnseus, gave the 

 chaffinch a name meaning " bachelor," because he had 

 noted the flocks of brightly - hued cock chaffinches ; 

 others have noticed only the flocks of quietly-coloured 

 hens. We cannot be sure that these may not be birds 

 who come to us in autumn from abroad. 



In February the great chaffinch flocks begin to break 

 up into pairs, and soon is heard the merry, ringing 

 chaffinch song. The call-notes may be written down, 

 " Whit, whit, whit," and " Spink, spink," and are 

 heard all the year. The French have a saying, " As 

 merry as a chaffinch," and the Germans, who have 

 paid them great attention, call them by many com- 

 plimentary names, such as " The noble finch," " Good- 

 year," "The Fiddler," and "The Bridegroom," and 

 certainly the cock chaffinch looks the very emblem 

 of a bridegroom when he has put on his wedding 

 costume, with its mingled black and white, blue, 

 green, yellow, and brilliant rosy hues. 



These German chaffinch lovers have tried to set the 

 song to words such as, " Finch, Finch, Finch, Finch, 

 dost thou hear ? Wilt thou not play the bridegroom ? " 

 Then they have written down what they call the 



