42 FAMILIAR WILD BIRDS. 



is so minute, that few, except naturalists, can distinguish 

 it. In the hen (although they frequently differ) it will 

 be generally found that the feathers immediately over the 

 beak are light brown instead of black ; the crimson 

 " blaze " does not extend past the eye ; and the black 

 feathers upon the crown of the head are edged with brown, 

 as also are the small feathers at the shoulder of the wing. 



Being generally distributed throughout England, in the 

 spring-time this interesting pair of birds are to be found 

 busily " prospecting " their neighbourhood in search of a 

 nesting-place. Although a preference is shown for the 

 forked branches of an apple or pear tree in an orchard, yet 

 they sometimes choose an oak, elm, or other tree, and upon 

 the lichen-covered branches they industriously commence 

 building their nest. This structure is a masterpiece of bird 

 architecture, composed of moss, wool, and other materials, 

 with a lining of horse-hair, and an inner and softer lining 

 of the down procured by the birds from the ripe seeds of 

 the dandelion and groundsel ; the exterior being embellished 

 in so lavish a manner with licheu, that it is scarcely 

 distinguishable from the tree in which it is built. 



The eggs are about five in number, of a pale greenish- 

 blue, spotted and streaked with purple and brown at the 

 larger end. After fourteen days the young are hatched, 

 and are fed from the crop by both parents until able to 

 leave the nest, when the birds escort their little family to 

 some convenient spot Avhere food is plentiful, and there 

 continue feeding them for a few days with most assiduous 

 attention. 



The parent birds are at this time feeding principally 

 upon the seeds of the dandelion and groundsel, often 

 visiting the sides of the country roads for the former, 



