THE FINCHES 129 



The crossbills gather these leaves, and grasping them in one foot- 

 resting upon the other foot rapidly clear them of their inhabitants, 

 dropping them in hundreds at the foot of the tree." l If this refers to 

 the Shetlands I must have seen the trees, as they are the only ones in 

 the islands, and situated, I believe, in what was once the observer's 

 garden stunted, small things, more like hazels, owing their existence 

 to being protected by four walls from the everlasting winds. 



The young of the linnet, twite, and redpolls are also fed 

 with seeds regurgitated from the crop, but although, so far as I 

 am aware, no evidence has been adduced, in the case of the 

 two first-named, that insects form, also, a part of their diet, it 

 is significant that larvae, and the fragments of a weevil, have been 

 found within the crop or stomach of a young lesser redpoll 2 The 

 same method is employed in the siskin nursery, but, according to 

 Bailly, 3 only at first. Afterwards the chicks get seeds which have 

 been bruised in the bill (" broyes ") but not swallowed (thus, at least, I 

 understand him), and buds in their natural state. Yet even this 

 earlier vegetable course is preceded by an animal one, the very young 

 nestlings being fed with aphides. 4 As far as is yet known, which is 

 not very far, in my opinion, the young hawfinch gets caterpillars to 

 eat ; 5 but no doubt, as time goes on, his rations will become more 

 liberal, as are those of both the young house- and tree-sparrow, in 

 which a certain modicum of apparently untreated vegetable food is 

 included. 6 



It is clear from the above facts that the young of the Fringillidse 

 are not fed by their parents in a quite uniform manner, and also that 

 the dietetic regime of the various species, in their adult state, is not 

 uniform. These are interesting points. The food of the family, as a 

 whole, consists both of seeds and insects; but whilst some of the 



1 Birds of Shetland. 



2 See " Classified Notes," ante, p. 73. 3 Oiseaux de la Savoie. 



4 It was this, no doubt, which led Naumann to state that the young received insects 

 throughout. 



5 Seebohm, Hist. British Birds. 



6 See ante, " Classified Notes/' pp. 77 and 79. 



R 



