SOME SUGGESTIONS FOR BIRD STUDY. 119 



BULLFINCH (E..). This finch is about 6 inches long, 

 rounded and plunip-like in body. The bill is black, very 

 short, and slightly hooked above. The male bird is glossy 

 black on top of head, the black continued from the outer 

 margin of the eye around the bill on to the throat. The 

 wings, upper tail coverts, and tail are of a similar colour ; 

 the back is slaty grey ; the rump is white ; throat, breast, 

 and sides brick red. In the female the back is greyish 

 brown, the under parts greyish red. The young resemble 

 the female. 



The bullfinch feeds on the seeds of various weeds (self- 

 heal, dock, composites, nettles, etc.), but is also very 

 destructive to fruit buds in orchards and gardens. 



The nest, of twigs, fibre, and moss, is built on a bush or 

 tree. The eggs, about f inch long, are pale greenish blue 

 with reddish brown or purplish grey speckling at the broad 

 end. The speckling is sometimes in the form of a ring, a 

 not uncommon feature in the eggs of various species. 



LINNET (R.)- This species is about 5 inches long. 

 The male is yellowish brown above streaked with dark 

 brown, the upper part of the head is crimson in summer, 

 duller in winter ; the rump, under parts, and sides of neck 

 are carmine in summer, rump duller in winter. The female 

 is without crimson on the rump ; in summer the fore part 

 of the head is crimson. The linnet nests in bushes, utilising 

 twigs, grass, moss, hair, etc. The eggs, four to five, f inch 

 long, pale bluish green, with brown spots at the broad end. 



The linnet is a gregarious bird, forming sometimes 

 enormous flocks in the winter, when it feeds largely 

 upon seeds of weeds upon cultivated lands. Charlock, 

 self-heal, composites, dock, and dandelion are amongst its 

 diet, especially the first-named. It also visits the farm- 

 yard and the vicinity of towns. In summer it occurs 

 more commonly in wilder parts, e.g. hilly regions or waste 

 ground. It is the sweetest songster amongst the finches. 



CHAFFINCH (R>.). This attractive little bird is about 

 6 inches long. The male is reddish brown on the back, 

 greenish on the rump. The neck and top of the head are 



