90 BRITISH BIRDS. 



The food of the Goldfinch is composed principally of insects and their 

 larvae in summer ; but in winter this bird is almost, if not quite, granivorous. 

 At this season it feeds on seeds of various kinds, especially on those of 

 the dock and the thistle ; it also eats those of the dandelion, chickweed, 

 groundsel, and plantain. In winter the birds are often seen in small 

 parties, sometimes in large flocks, which are ever wandering about in 

 search of food. No frost or snow, however severe, seems to inconvenience 

 this charming little bird, for it can always find plenty of food on the tall 

 weeds that tower high above the deepest snow. It is a very pretty sight 

 to see a party of Goldfinches searching for food, especially when the 

 ground is covered deep in snow. You may approach them quite closely 

 and they will take but little heed of your presence. You may watch how 

 deftly they poise on the thistle-heads or cling, sometimes head downwards, 

 to the bushy docks. Beneath the plants the husks are thickly strewed 

 upon the snow, and betray the recent presence of these charming creatures 

 in the locality. They are very restless birds and do not stay long in one 

 place ; they are incessantly flitting on and on, from one stem to another, 

 in drooping jerking flight, and the air is filled with their clear twittering 

 notes. 



A considerable number of Goldfinches remain with us throughout the 

 winter; but most of them go southwards in autumn, in company with 

 migrants from North Europe that pass our islands. Our Goldfinches 

 appear to fly south until they strike the coast, which they follow, ' ' cuddling 

 the cliffs/' until the narrowest part of the Channel is reached near 

 Dover, where they start for the continent. 



The wholesale capture of this bird is no doubt one of the causes of its 

 decrease in numbers. Mr. Swaysland states that near Brighton a boy 

 could formerly catch as many as forty dozen of these birds in a single 

 morning ; but this wholesale work soon perceptibly thinned the ranks of 

 the Goldfinch, and the bird is now comparatively rare. The Goldfinch is 

 in great request as a cage-bird, and may be taught many tricks ; it is also 

 used considerably by Canary-breeders to cross with that bird. 



The Goldfinch has a black band from the centre of the crown of 

 the head, which meets on the nape a similar black band reaching half- 

 way round the neck. The feathers at the base of the bill and the lores 

 are black ; the forehead and throat are rich scarlet ; the rest of the upper 

 parts are reddish brown, shading into white on the upper tail-coverts ; a 

 patch on the nape and the sides of the head and the underparts below the 

 throat are dull white, shading into buffy brown on the breast and flanks ; 

 the wings are black, broadly barred with yellow and tipped with white ; 

 the tail is black, the two outer feathers on each side (occasionally the three 

 outer feathers) have a spot of white on the inner web and the rest are tipped 

 with white. Bill pinkish white, darkest at the tip ; legs and feet fleshy 



