60 BIRDS OF LA PLATA 



undulating flight, feed chiefly on the ground like 

 most Finches, and also frequently alight in the 

 seeding-time on plants like the lettuce and Sonchus 

 asper (a common weed), and, clinging to the stem, 

 dexterously pick off the seed, scattering the down 

 about them in a little cloud. They are very tuneful, 

 restless, quick in their motions, apparently always 

 in a light-hearted merry mood. Being much admired 

 for their song they are often kept in cages ; and 

 certainly for cheerfulness and constancy in singing 

 they take the foremost place amongst the Finches ; 

 but there is little expression in the song, which is 

 composed of a variety of short twittering notes, 

 uttered with great rapidity, as the bird sits perched 

 on a twig or undulates from tree to tree. Usually the 

 notes flow in a continuous stream, but occasionally 

 the bird sings in a different manner, making a pause 

 of two or three seconds of silence after every eight 

 or ten short notes. When the female is on the nest 

 the male sometimes perches near her amongst the 

 leaves and sings sotto voce, apparently for her hearing 

 only, this whisper-song being so low that at a distance 

 of ten yards it is hardly audible. 



The nest is usually placed between the angle 

 formed by a small branch and the bole of the tree, 

 and is a deep, well-made structure composed of many 

 materials, and lined with horsehair, down, or feathers. 

 The eggs are five, very small for the bird, pure white, 

 and so frail that it is not easy to take them from the 

 nest without breaking them. 



While engaged in building, the birds constantly 



