THE FINCHES 



151 



nigra, or " Hard-head," is much beloved 

 by them ; it ripens late, is held long by 

 the plant, and stands up well above the 

 average level of any English snow-fall. The 

 golden-coloured wing patch, from which 

 the Goldfinch derives its specific name, 

 is well displayed whilst- it is hanging on 

 to, and extracting the seed from, the 

 swaying tops of either of these weeds, and 

 the bright, blood-red forehead and throat, 

 black nape and white cheeks and under 

 parts, may then be observed. So, too, the 

 white-tipped tail and flight feathers are 

 conspicuous as with cheery call-note this 

 sprightly bird flits from one feeding 

 plant to another. 



Siskins are best known as cage birds, 

 not perhaps on account of their rarity, 

 but because, generally speaking, they 

 only visit us in flocks in winter, and 

 then confine themselves to plantations 

 of larch and fir, birch and alder. The 

 seeds of the two last-named trees are most 

 esteemed by them. Siskins are very active 

 and Tit -like in their attitudes whilst 

 extracting seed from the pensile catkins. 

 In captivity they soon become exceed- 

 ingly tame, and readily hybridise with the 

 Canary, to which, indeed, they are nearly 

 related. The female is not unlike a small 

 Green Canary with a short and deeply 

 notched tail, but the male bird has a 

 black crown and bib. 



The Linnet, Twite and Lesser Redpole 

 have this much in common — all three 

 are small brown birds, and small in the 

 order they are mentioned ; the sexes 

 are similar except that the females have 

 no red on head, breast or rump. Adult 

 male Linnets (sometimes called Brown 

 or Grey Linnets to distmguish them 

 from the Greenfinch or Green Linnet) 

 have the forehead and breast crimson 

 pink, fading off to white on the under 

 parts. The Twite or Mountain Linnet 

 (so called from its breeding haunts, for 

 it descends to the lowlands m autumn) 

 has no red on forehead or breast, but the 

 rump is rosy, and the beak is yellow 

 instead of horn-coloured as in the two 

 other species. All three are gregarious in 

 winter. The Lesser Redpole has the 

 winter habits of the Siskin, and consorts 

 with it in feeding upon alder and birch 

 seed. The latter tree is frequently 

 chosen to receive the beautifully- woven 



little nest, which is cosily Uned with 

 cotton down from the catkins of poplar, 

 sallow, or willow. In addition to the 

 smaller size of the bird, it is to be dis- 

 tinguished from both of the foregoing 

 by a double white wing-bar and the 

 presence of a black patch on the throat, 

 while the rump is a dull white. 



Conspicuous amongst the Finches on 

 account of the strong, compressed beak, 

 jet black crown, flight, and tail feathers 

 — contrasting strongly with snow-white 

 rump — the Bullfinch is well known in all 

 well-wooded districts. The male only 

 has the lovely carmine breast, and the 

 black cap is not developed in either sex 

 until after the first moult. In winter, 

 pairs, and sometimes family parties, pay 

 unwelcome visits to gardens and orchards 

 for the purpose of feeding upon the buds of 

 fruit trees — especially those of stone 

 fruit ; but pears, gooseberries, and cur- 

 rants are all attacked. The House 

 Sparrow is perhaps a worse and more 

 usual offender in the case of the two 

 last-named bushes, and Tits sometimes 

 attack the blossom buds of various 

 fruit trees, but only in search of hidden 

 insects, their minute eggs or larvae. No 

 such extenuating circumstances, however, 

 can be pleaded on behalf of the Bullfinch, 

 which when it dissects the damson buds 

 does so merely for the purpose of devouring 

 the tender vegetation which they contain. 

 So rapid are they in their destructive 

 work, that unless there be several trees 

 together for them to act the part of 

 Nature's pruners upon, the chances are 

 that they will have " been and gone and 

 done it " ere the damage is discovered. 

 They are very shy and secretive in their 

 movements, their rather mournful, piping 

 call-note, or the conspicuous white rump, 

 being the items most likely to attract 

 attention to their presence. 



When once an orchard is attacked by 

 Bullfinches they are diflicult to scare away, 

 and are loth to depart even when fright- 

 ened by the human voice, retreating one 

 by one a little way, only to return as soon 

 as danger disappears. Should a family 

 party suddenly be surprised in the act of 

 despoiling the trees, the bird nearest to 

 the disturber will immediately throw 

 himself away from his work, bound 

 thr(jugh the branches, and at once be 



