GREENFINCH. 553 



slightly arched ; lower mandible nearly as large as the upper, its cutting 

 edges inflected, and shutting within those of the upper. Nostrils basal, 

 lateral, oblique, oval, nearly hidden by the short feathers at the base of the 

 beak. Wings long, rather powerful, the second and third quill-feathers of 

 nearly equal length, and rather longer than the first. Legs with the tarsi 

 short, not exceeding the length of the middle toe ; the outer toe longer 

 than the inner one ; claws sharp and curved, the hind toe and claw broad 

 and strong. Tail short, and more or less forked. 



THE GREENFINCH, or Green Grosbeak, as it is very com- 

 monly called from the great size of its "beak, is one of our 

 most common birds, and remains in this country through- 

 out the year, changing its ground occasionally only to ob- 

 tain a sheltered situation in severe weather. It frequents 

 gardens, orchards, shrubberies, small woods, and cultivated 

 lands, where these birds may be seen actively employed, 

 sometimes on the ground, at other times in tall hedges, 

 or among the branches of trees, searching for grain, seeds, 

 or insects, to satisfy their appetite. The notes of this 

 bird are harsh and monotonous, but it occasionally utters 

 a few that may be called melodious ; and, like many others 

 of the Finches, when kept in confinement, it endeavours to 

 imitate the song of any birds kept in the same room, and 

 without many qualities to recommend it as a cage bird, it 

 soon becomes tame and reconciled to its prison. 



I have been favoured by a lady with the following 

 details of a young bird of this species : " You ask for an 

 account of my bird. It was a Greenfinch : our acquaint- 

 ance commenced whilst walking close to house. 



A young bird flew on my shoulder ; I drove it away, and it 

 returned a second and third time ; it having shown such 

 a determined wish for my protection, induced me to take 

 it into the house and feed it, intending to let it fly as 

 soon as able to provide for itself ; but it became in a few 

 days very familiar, perching on our hands, heads, &c., and 

 restless unless sitting on my finger, where it would remain 



