184 BRITISH LAND BIRDS. 



in these birds, have been noted by naturalists. 

 Audubon, in his " Ornithological Biography," says 

 that he saw them, in small parties of seven or 

 eight, seemingly belonging to the same family, 

 and that when fired at they all rose on the wing, 

 and mixed together ; but presently separated again 

 into families, alighting on the same bushes, and 

 resumed their occupation; and when alighted, 

 were quite unsuspicious and allowed a near 

 approach. They exhibited the most affectionate 

 disposition, and it was pleasing to see several 

 on a twig feeding each other, by passing a seed 

 from bill to bill, one sometimes receiving from 

 his two neighbours at the same time. 



Their favourite haunts are the copses of hazel 

 and birch trees, and the plantations of young 

 timber, the catkins of those trees yielding them 

 a plentiful supply of food. Their motions, when 

 feeding, are remarkably agile ; they are admirable 

 perchers, and their action resembles that of the 

 crested wrens and tits. On the twigs of a weeping 

 birch, which are little thicker than packthread, 

 these little creatures may be seen, swinging back- 

 wards and forwards, busily feeding, and never 

 losing their perch. 



There are two other British linnets, the TWITE, 

 or MOUNTAIN-LINNET, a regular northern species, 

 not uncommon in the neighbourhood of London, 



