THE GREENFINCH^ 75 



for food. A pair of birds will bu ild as many as three or 

 fou^r ne sts in a year. 



The young", upon becoming- full-fledged, will all fly out 

 of the nest together at the slightest imminent danger ; 

 as many a schoolboy may remember, when, after watching 

 a nest with exemplary patience, he finds his treasure 

 escape him just when he had made up his mind to possess 

 it. The parent birds, when disturbed upon the nest, do 

 not fly far away, but continue around, uttering most 

 melancholy lamentations. The exceedingly j^laintive tone 

 of their long " tway^' is enough to strike remorse into the 

 heart of the most inveterate bird-nester. 



The song of the Greenfinch is better than generally 

 imagined, though diifering in individv;als, consisting- as it 

 does of only a few notes; but these are somewhat full 

 and rich, though slightly marred by a few harsh notes that 

 are occasionally interspersed. 



Greenfinches feed upon almost all kinds of grain and 

 seeds, especially dandelion, of which they are very fond, 

 not even despising those growing by the country roadsides, 

 where indeed they are generally plentiful ; groundsel, chick- 

 weed, and sowthistle also help to swell the bill of fare, 

 and in the spring-^^time the sweet young buds and the 

 gardener's radish and cabba_ge seeds have to sufEer. In 

 winter, when all these dainties have disappeared, the 

 Greenfinch makes shift with hips and haws, and will visit 

 farm-yards and rick-yards and haystacks in search of food. 



Towards the end of autumn Greenfinches congregate 

 together, and when the migratory season is at hand appear 

 in large flocks. But the bird is only partially migratory ; 

 and whilst many seek a more congenial climate, a very 

 large number remain in Eng-land the whole of the winter. 



