THE CHAFFINCH. 



Fringilla Ccelebs, LINN^US ; Le Pinson coramun, BUFFON ; Der Buch-Fiiii, 

 BECHSTEIN. 



THIS delightful songster of spring, famed for the sprightli- 

 ness of its warbling, this favourite of most of our bird-fan- 

 ciers, is so generally known that I should be tempted to suppress 

 its description if the uniformity of this work and the wish to 

 render it complete, did not impel me to give it. This will also 

 offer some particulars worthy the attention of the naturalist. 



The passion for this bird is carried to such an extent in Thu- 

 ringia, and those which sing well are sought for with so much 

 activity that scarcely a single chaffinch that warbles tolerably 

 can be found throughout the province. As soon as one arrives 

 from a neighbouring country whose notes appear good, all the 

 bird-catchers are after it, and do not give up the pursuit till 

 they have taken it. This is the reason why the chaffinches in 

 this province are so indifferent songsters : the young ones have 

 only bad masters in the old ones, and they in their turn cannot 

 prove better. 



This bird is six inches and one-third in length, of which the 

 tail measures two and three quarters. The beak is conical, 

 pointed, and white in winter ; but as soon as spring, the season 

 of pairing and song, arrives, and till the time of moulting, it is 

 of a deep blue, and one may know by this whether it has sung 

 or not. The iris is chestnut brown ; the legs, nine lines high, 

 are dusky ; the claws are very sharp, and grow so fast in a 

 cage that it is necessary to cut them every six weeks, if you 

 do not wish to see the poor bird some day caught by them, 

 and perish miserably unless rescued. The forehead is black, 

 the top of the head and nape of the neck are greyish blue, in 



