120 SOME SUGGESTIONS FOR BIRD STUDY. 



greyish blue. The breast is reddish. The female is lighter 

 in colour, dark greyish above, light grey on the breast. 

 The male " in the breeding season has the black of the fore- 

 head and the greyish-blue of the head, unmixed, the red of 

 the back brighter, and the breast of a much lighter tint. 

 The bill, which in winter is pale reddish brown, also be- 

 comes of a fine leaden blue " (MacG-illivray ) . 



The Chaffinch appears to be maintaining its numbers, 

 and is not uncommon in the outskirts of towns. It feeds 

 largely on seeds of weeds in winter and on more mixed diet 

 in summer. The nestlings are fed upon insect diet. The 

 nest is a small, extremely compact, and neat structure com- 

 posed of moss and lichen, lined with feathers, wool, etc. It 

 is placed in a low tree or bush. The eggs, 4 to 5, are 

 f inch long, greenish blue with brown spots and streaks. 

 The spots are generally paler at the margin, becoming 

 reddish and spreading diffusely. The egg is sometimes 

 covered with this reddish brown tint so that the ground 

 colour is obscured. Sometimes the egg is pale blue without 

 any spotting. 



SKY LARK (E.). The Lark measures about 7 inches in 

 length. The bill is nearly half an inch long. The top of 

 head, back, wings, and tail are dark brown ,well streaked 

 with light reddish brown. There is a light band over the 

 eye. The throat is whitish, speckled with small brownish 

 spots, the breast is pale reddish with strong brown streaks, 

 abdomen whitish. The claws are strong, that of the hind 

 toe longer than the toe itself, curved and sharply pointed. 

 The lark is well known for its power of rising to a great 

 height whilst pouring out its delightful song, which is of 

 remarkable duration. 



Larks feed chiefly on seeds in winter, often gathering in 

 large flocks on the stubble fields In summer the diet is 

 more mixed, including insects. 



The nest is formed on the ground in open pasture or 

 amongst corn or hay. It consists almost entirely of 

 withered grass loosely put together. The eggs, 4 or 5, 

 are about | of an inch long, greyish, thickly speckled with 

 light brown, variable in size and colour 



