for one particular kind of tree, it is the yew, and three or four nests may 

 often be found in the same tree, cunningly hidden among the smaller twigs, 

 generally where two or three form a sort of fork. 



The nest is built of moss, dry grass, small roots and wool, generally 

 with a few slender twigs woven in, and is lined with moss first, and finally 

 with wool, feathers and hair, sometimes entirely with fine roots. Some nests 

 are much more carefully made than others, but they are always exceedingly 

 pretty, with the white, red-spotted eggs forming a contrast to the dark green 

 of the surrounding foliage and the nest with its brownish lining. The nest 

 is sometimes, though more rarely, found among the ivy or rose-trees trained 

 up the sides of a house. The most beautiful nest I have ever seen was 

 among a mass of Gloire-de-Dijon roses, close to a window. The bird was 

 exceedingly tame, and would suffer herself to be stroked while on the nest. 



The Greenfinch often begins to sit as soon as the first egg is laid, and 

 becomes very anxious if any one should come too near the nest, flying about 

 above the intruder's head, uttering her plaintive note, being joined almost at 

 once by the male, who is never very far from the nest. The Greenfinch 

 rears two broods in the year, as a rule, sometimes even a third. The young 

 of the first broods may often be seen in small flocks in the grass fields in 

 summer, as they are cast adrift by their parents as soon as they can fend 

 for themselves. 



Eggs of the Greenfinch are very easily confused with those of the Gold- 

 finch and Linnet; indeed, it is impossible to distinguish between small eggs 

 of the Greenfinch and large eggs of the two latter birds. They vary in 

 number from four to six, and are pure white in ground-colour, sometimes 

 slightly tinged with blue or faint green ; they are spotted, blotched, or 

 streaked with purplish brown, and underlying markings of pinkish brown. 

 The markings are very frequently nearly all on the large end of the egg, 

 and the underlying marks are generally pretty nearly the same in size and 

 numbers as the surface ones. Some eggs are covered with dark, streaky 

 markings, and others have hardly any spots at all. They vary in length 

 from '87 to 70 inch, and in breadth from '60 to '53 inch. 



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