44 THE BIRDS OF OUR RAMBLES. 



uttered as if the bird was fearful of being dis- 

 covered, and stopped at the least alarm ; the 

 piping call, sounding like diu or d'u, is much more 

 familiar. Paired for life, this handsome bird, 

 towards the end of April, begins the duties of the 

 year. The nest is usually amongst the yew or 

 whitethorn bushes, sometimes in the tangled 

 thicket by the stream. Grass, rootlets, and moss, 

 interwoven with twigs, form the outer portion, 

 which is lined with finer roots, wool, and feathers. 

 The eggs, four or five in number, are bluish green 

 in ground colour, spotted, usually in a zone round 

 the larger end, with purplish red and pale pinkish 

 brown. The food of the Bullfinch in summer is 

 mostly insects and larvae ; at other seasons 

 farinaceous buds, hips, haws, and other berries, 

 and the seeds of weeds are its chief support. 

 English The handsome HAWFINCH (Coccothraustes 



2?e e in Very vulgaris), largest of the truly British Finches, 

 Ireland. c l a j ms our not ice next. Of all shy birds the 

 Hawfinch is the shyest, keeping close to the 

 dense and friendly foliage of the evergreens or the 

 fruit-trees in the garden. Sometimes he visits the 

 park, and may be noticed flying from one tree to 

 another ; but certainly all the summer through it 

 is the exception to meet with him out of the cover 

 of his favourite haunts. The food of the Haw- 

 finch in spring and early summer is insects and 

 larvse, and on these its young are reared chiefly. 

 Later on it visits the garden for peas, cherries, 

 and other fruit ; nuts, berries, and seeds are its 

 staple fare during the remainder of the year. The 

 nest is often made in a fork of the apple or pear 

 trees, in ivy growing up the trunks of larger 

 trees, and sometimes on a flat branch near the 



