REDPOLL. 1 5 1 



by no means as numerous as the Linnet the Greater 

 Redpoll, as he is sometimes called. In winter it is, 

 however, more rare, although occasionally met with in 

 flocks which frequent groves of birch- and alder-trees, 

 where the habits of this graceful and fearless little bird 

 may be readily observed. In the North of Ireland, Mr. 

 Thompson tells us this bird is usually called " thorn- 

 grey/' to distinguish it from the Linnet, which is styled 

 " whin-grey," and the Twite, whose local name is 

 " heather-grey;" and there it is often found, in company 

 with the Grey Linnet, along the sea-shore in winter. 



The food of these little birds consists principally 

 of seeds. To those of the alder they are especially 

 partial ; in many respects their attitudes as they seek 

 for food remind us of their agile brethren the Titmice, 

 in whose company they may sometimes be found. 

 Audubon says of them: "Few birds display a more 

 affectionate disposition than the little Redpoll, and it 

 was pleasing to see several on a twig feeding each other 

 by passing a seed from bill to bill, one individual some- 

 times receiving from his two neighbours at the same 

 time." 



Mr. Warde Fowler says of the appearance of a flock 

 of Redpolls feeding among the birches : " It is one of 

 the prettiest sights that our whole calendar of bird- 

 life affords. The Redpolls almost outdo the Titmice in 

 the amazing variety of their postures. They prefer, in 

 a general way, to be upside down, and decidedly object 

 to the commonplace attitudes of more solidly built 

 birds." 



I cannot say much for the song of this bird ; to me it 

 seems but a pleasant twittering. As it flies, however, it 



