FINCHES. 383 



under surface of the leaves of some beeches, clinging head downwards like a tomtit, 

 A trait noticed in a village on the Rhine was that the chaffinches to a large extent 

 deserted the shelter of the trees when singing, preferring at such times to occupy 

 a more conspicuous position upon some cottage roof, or the gable of a barn. The 

 chaffinch is to a large extent a bird of passage, moving from one part of the 

 country to another, according to the supply of food and the condition of the 

 weather. In the breeding-season isolated pairs of chaffinches may be found 

 nesting in localities little adapted by natural circumstances to afford them a home, 

 as, for example, when a pair of these birds elect to take up their summer quarters 

 beside some northern farm where they have to perch upon the stone walls in 

 default of timber; but the chaffinch is a bird of resource, and if hard pressed will 

 even nest upon the ground. The young birds frequently associate together as 

 early as the middle of July, the sexes then being hardly distinguishable. The 

 chaffinch is a fairly early nester; and we have known the young to fly as early as 

 the 19th of May even in the West Highlands, although they do not usually hatch 

 before the last days of that month. On the Continent we have found the chaffinch 

 plentiful on mountain-ranges of moderate elevation, as in Central France and the 

 Black Forest, In Switzerland it is a common bird about the summer chalets, 

 descending into the plains before severe weather sets in. The chaffinch is subject 

 to considerable variation of plumage ; and some few years ago we saw an entirely 

 yellow specimen, which was identified by the discovery of a tiny patch of pink 

 feathers on the breast. We have also seen others of a uniform bright yellow, and 

 others again of a very light cinnamon. The male in summer has the mantle, back, 

 and scapulars, chestnut-brown, the wing-coverts white, or black tipped with white; 

 the quills black margined with pale olive-yellow; the inner primaries white at the 

 base, forming a speculum; the secondaries white at the base, forming a band with 

 white tips to the grey coverts; forehead black, the crown slaty blue, the chin and 

 breast pale vinous red, and the lower-parts vinous white. The female is ashy 

 brown above washed with olive-yellow, the wings being conspicuously pied with 

 white, and the lower-parts are ashy brown. 



Teydean This chaffinch (F. teydea) is peculiar to Teneriffe, inhabiting the 



Chaffinch. dreary heights of the Peak and surrounding plateaux. It frequents 

 the pine-forests, feeding on the seeds of the pines, and breaking the cone with its 

 powerful beak in order to get at its contents. The note of this bird is plaintive 

 and often repeated, and bears some resemblance to that of the serin finch. A 

 somewhat rare species, and only occurring on the lower grounds when driven by 

 a heavy fall of snow from its usual haunts, this chaffinch is known to the goat- 

 herds, tending their flocks in the highest parts of the mountain. The adult male 

 has the entire upper-parts rich dark blue ; the wings and tail black, edged with 

 slate blue ; and the under-parts blue, fading into dull white on the abdomen. In 

 the female bird, the blue garb of the male is replaced by dull greyish brown. 



The brambling (F. montifringilla) is one of the characteristic 

 birds of the northern parts of the Old World, nesting in the forest- 

 regions of the Arctic circles, whence it journeys to winter in Southern Europe, 

 Persia, and even India. In Siberia, Dr. Radde states that " the brambling remains 

 occasionally during the summer and breeds there. On the 16th May 1859 I found 



