250 BRITISH BIRDS. 



early in spring, and continues it till about the 

 summer solstice, after Avhich it is no more heard. 

 It is a lively bird, which with its elegant plumage, 

 has given rise to the proverb, "as gay as a Chaf- 

 finch" The nest is remarkably neat and com- 

 pact, and constructed with much art, of small 

 fibres, roots, and moss, and lined with wool, hair, 

 and feathers ; the female generally lays five or 

 six eggs, slightly blushed with red, and sprinkled 

 with dark spots, principally at the larger end. 

 The male is very assiduous in his attendance 

 during the time of hatching, seldom straying far, 

 and then only to procure food. Chaffinches sub- 

 sist chiefly on small seeds ; likewise on caterpil- 

 lars and insects, with which they also feed their 

 young. They are seldom kept in cages, as their 

 song possesses no variety, and they are not apt 

 in learning the notes of other birds. The males 

 frequently maintain obstinate combats, and fight 

 till one of them is vanquished. In Sweden these 

 birds perform a partial migration ; the females 

 collect in vast flocks in the latter end of Septem- 

 ber, and, leaving their mates, spread themselves 

 through the various parts of Europe; the males 

 continue in Sweden, and are again joined by their 

 females, who return about the beginning of April. 

 In the north of England, both males and females 

 remain the whole year. White, in his history of 

 Selborne, observes that great flocks appear in that 

 neighbourhood about Christmas, and that they are 

 almost entirely hens. It would appear that such 

 a habit is not peculiar to this bird, many others 

 doing the same. 



