BRAMBLING LINNET. 43 



bough of elm-tree, in thick hedge, in beech and birch trees, 

 sometimes in evergreens. 



Materials. Lichens, moss, grass, cobwebs, and wool felted 

 together, lined with hair, down, and feathers. 



Eggs. Four to six. Greenish blue, spotted, dotted, clouded, 

 and streaked with reddish and purplish brown. 



BRAMBLING (Fringilla montif ring ilia). 



An irregular winter migrant. Commoner in the North, and 

 much rarer in the South and West; it may breed in the 

 extreme North. 



Plumage. Head, cheeks, nape, and upper part of back 

 black (tipped with light brown in winter). Scapulars tawny 

 brown. Wings black, variegated with orange-brown and white. 

 Kump white mottled with black. Tail black ; white bases to 

 outer pair of feathers. Throat and breast reddish tawny, fading 

 into white on the belly. Flanks spotted with black. Bill 

 bluish black. Legs brown. Length 6 in. Female, no black 

 areas and all colouring duller. Young, like female. 



Language. Song, much like Chaffinch's without the ter- 

 minal notes, and also long-drawn, monotonous "zshweo," 

 much like the Greenfinch's. Call-note, a harsh "chib" or 

 "whit." 



Habits. Much like the last. 



Food. Insects in summer. In winter, beech -mast and 

 various seeds. 



Nest. May or June. One brood. 



Site. In fork of some birch or fir-tree. Sometimes in 

 bushes. 



Materials. Birch bark-strips, lichens, and moss, lined with 

 fine grass and feathers. Not unlike the last. 



Eggs. Five to seven. Much like Chaffinch's, but greener 

 and less marked. 



LINNET (Acanthis cannabina). 



Partially migrant ; well-distributed through Great Britain, 

 except in the more mountainous parts. 



Haunts. Furze-grown commons, uncultivated lands, &c. 



Plumage. Variable according to age, sex, and season. Fore- 

 head and centre of crown crimson ; other parts of head and 

 sides of neck brownish grey. Mantle chestnut-brown. Wings 

 blackish with outer edges white, giving a conspicuous bar in 

 flight. Tail-feathers black edged with white. Chin and throat 

 dull white striped with greyish brown. Breast crimson. Belly 

 sordid white. Bill horn-colour. Legs brown. Length 5J in. 

 In autumn, feathers of crown and breast bordered with grey, 



