THE BIRD-LIFE OF LONDON 



More familiar still is die long-drawn note of peezb 

 that may be heard with great persistency in the haunts 

 affected by this species. During autumn and winter the 

 Greenfinch is more or less gregarious, and even in spring 

 and summer is very social, and several pairs may frequently 

 be found nesting in close proximity. These flocks resort to 

 fields of mowing-grass, to the growing corn, and later to 

 the stubbles. In sowing-time they visit the newly tilled 

 land, and in hard weather may often be seen with 

 Sparrows near ricks, in farmyards, and occasionally at 

 our thresholds. They love to roost in shrubberies and 

 evergreens at this season. The food of this Finch is 

 composed, according to season, of insects and larvae, seeds, 

 grain, and various berries. The young seem to be reared 

 exclusively on an animal diet. The bird is very fond of 

 the seeds of the sunflower. This bird flies well, and is as 

 much addicted to the trees as the hedges ; it also obtains 

 much of its food on the ground. Several broods are 

 reared in the year, the breeding season lasting from April 

 to August. An evergreen of some kind or a dense hedge- 

 row are the favourite sites for the nest, although many 

 other spots are chosen, sometimes high up a tree, fifty or 

 more feet from the ground. The nest is made of moss, 

 dry grass, roots, and scraps of wool, bound together, 

 especially round the rim, with a few slender twigs, and 

 lined with finer roots, hair, wool, and feathers. The five 

 or six eggs are white (sometimes with a tinge of blue or 

 green), sparsely spotted and speckled with reddish brown 

 and paler brown. The old birds become quiet and 

 secretive during the nesting period, the hen sitting very 

 closely. 



The adult male Greenfinch has the general colour of 

 the upper parts yellowish green, suffused on the head, 

 neck, throat, and breast with grey ; the wings are brown, 

 the outer webs o the primaries yellow, and the secondaries 

 margined and tipped with grey. The two central tail- 

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