FRINGILLID^. 175 



quote a note in the ' Zoologist,' which, after giving a 

 long list of its misdemeanours both in the field and 

 the garden, in which latter place the buds of the 

 polyanthus and the seeds of mustard and cress and 

 radishes seem to have great attractions, winds up by 

 saying, " So large is the number of seeds of weeds 

 that the Chaffinch consumes in the course of a year, 

 more particularly of groundsel, duckweed and butter- 

 cups, that he without doubt more than compensates 

 for all his misdeeds ; and as his summer food par- 

 tially, and that of his young family exclusively, con- 

 sists of caterpillars and other noxious insects, he is 

 in reality the gardener's best friend. The Chaffinch 

 also has a habit occasionally of flying from the 

 branch of a tree and returning after the manner of 

 the Spotted Flycatcher, and I believe at that time it 

 is similarly employed in catching insects flying by. 



The Chaffinch lives and sings very well in confine- 

 ment, and eats nearly anything a Canary will, but I 

 have not found it breed in my aviary ; this may be 

 for the want of proper materials and a proper locality 

 for its nest, or from the want of a sufficient supply 

 of insect and caterpillar food for its young ones. 



The nest is one of the neatest and prettiest of the 

 various structures to be found amongst " Homes 

 without Hands " : it is placed in a variety of situa- 

 tions, amongst the ivy or creepers on the side of a 

 wall or tree, in the forked branch of almost any tree 

 (especially an apple tree) or in some low bush. The 



