THE CHAFFINCH. 287 



twink," is not unmusical. Yet English ears are 

 not deliglited with the music as are those of 

 Germany. The Germans have marked with the 

 greatest accuracy all the niceties of tlie strain ; 

 and if the bird finishes it by the word " fink," the 

 birdcatchers prize it more highly for what they 

 call its amen. Ko price is thought too high for 

 the pmxhase of a well- trained chaffinch, and as 

 the inliabitants of Thuringia will sometimes give a 

 cow in exchange for a bird distinguished for its 

 song, a common proverb is in use, "Such a 

 chaffinch is worth a cow." Artisans liave been 

 known to go ninety miles from home to take with 

 birdlime one of these birds, reputed for its song • 

 and a common workman will give a louis d'or 

 (sixteen shillings,) for a good singer. Bechstein, 

 who partakes in the national enthusiasm for this 

 bird, says, " that he could, if he liked, write a 

 good sized volume on all the details of its music." 

 Even the cries which indicate the passions and 

 wants of the chaffinch are minutely recorded by 

 this excellent observer of singing birds. " Trif, 

 traf," is its note of tenderness, which is thought 

 also to foretell the change of weather. Its call- 

 note is "iak, iak;" and its cry of "fink, fink," from 



