THE BULLFINCH 



PTRRHULA 7ULGARIS 



LOCAL names in surrounding counties : 



STATUS IN BRITISH AVIFAUNA : A fairly common and 

 widely distributed resident in all wooded and cultivated 

 districts. 



RADIAL DISTRIBUTION WITHIN FIFTEEN MILES OF ST. 

 PAUL'S : All the available evidence tends to show that the 

 Bullfinch is commoner in the southern suburbs than in 

 the northern ones, the proximity of the Kentish and 

 Surrey orchards possibly being the reason. Whether the 

 Bullfinch breeds in Battersea Park I am unable to say 

 but there is a possibility of it. It is known to do so, 

 however, at Dulwich, Streatham, and Wimbledon, and 

 probably in Kew Gardens. It is certainly rare and local 

 at Richmond, and the same remarks apply to all or nearly 

 all of the Middlesex suburbs. I can record the species 

 in summer from the Wembley, Willesden, and Hamp- 

 stead areas, and the bird is certainly a local and scarce 

 resident in the Epping and Wanstead districts. Across 

 the river it may be recorded from Greenwich, Eltham, 

 Beckenham, and Sydenham ; whilst further out still it 

 becomes increasingly numerous in the Grays and the 

 Croydon and Banstead districts. During the non-breed- 

 ing season the bird wanders a good deal, and may then be 

 observed in the more central areas, gardens and private 

 grounds especially. I have records from Clapham, Peck- 

 ham, Tooting, Kensington Gardens, and Regent's Park. 

 The species, however, is very erratic in its appearance. 



The Bullfinch may casually visit any suitable spot in 

 Greater London during autumn and winter, but in 

 summer it is local as a resident, and its retiring ways at 

 that time greatly assist in its being overlooked. After 

 the nesting season the bird seems for ever on the wander, 



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