THE BULLFINCH. ss 



very aberrant, almost white variety, the whole of the spots are chocolate brown 

 diffused at the edges. 



There is no doubt that, when feeding its young, the Bullfinch eats aphides, 

 small green caterpillars, seeds, and leaves of weeds ; so that, in a measure, it atones 

 for the mischief which it does to the fruit-grower in autumn and spring. 



It is said that the Bullfinch frequently rears two broods in the season ; its 

 first eggs being laid towards the end of April ; the young would therefore be 

 hatched early in May, and perhaps be able to look after themselves by the end of 

 that month ; the second nest, if built in the last week of May, would again have 

 eggs by the end of the first week in June. My own experience is that, in Kent, 

 nidification is later ; the first nest having eggs in the early part of May, and the 

 second early in July, so that the old birds must be close upon, or in their moult 

 by the time that the young leave the nest. Is it certain that these birds would 

 be reared? I am inclined to doubt it. In 1890 a pair of Bullfinches in one of 

 my aviaries built a typical nest (in August) in a small yew-tree ; she laid four 

 eggs and sat steadily for a week, when she deserted them and died the following 

 day : examination showed acute inflammation of the cloaca : two of the eggs, which 

 I put under a Canary, were hatched but not reared. 



The natural song of the Bullfinch is very poor, reminding one of a Jew's-harp ; 

 but hand-reared birds can, with the help of a musical-box, be taught to whistle 

 entire tunes very prettily. The call-note is a soft plaintive whistle, difficult to 

 write down, as it commences without any initial consonant; the word diu which 

 has been frequently used to express it, bears no resemblance whatever to the 

 sound ; hoo would be nearer, but is too abrupt ; wheo is a better rendering. 



In the winter the Bullfinch becomes much less retiring, and more confiding 

 in its habits, frequenting gardens and orchards : and in its love for buds, particularly 

 of fruit-trees, often doing considerable mischief: father, mother, and family, some- 

 times taking up positions on the same tree, and going to work systematically. 

 Attempts have often been made by well-mean ing Ornithologists to defend this 

 action on the part of the Bullfinch, by declaring (without a particle of evidence in 

 favour of the assertion) that the birds are in reality the fruit-grower's best friends ; 

 inasmuch as they only select those buds which contain maggots. Such utter 

 nonsense could only be written by those who have not studied birds in captivity, 

 and in large aviaries containing living shrubs and creepers. 



Seebohm was far more sensible than to perpetuate so flimsy an excuse, for he 

 says : " It is seldom respected by the gardener, who, in shooting it down, makes 

 bad worse, and does more damage in one discharge of his gun than a host of 

 Bullfinches would do in a week. Early in the year the bird may often be seen 



