THE SISKIN. 269 



tened, and indisposed to action by repletion ; fits and ailments 

 ensue, and they mope and die. But I nave known our Goldfinch, 

 immediately after its capture, commence feeding on its canary or 

 hemp-seed food it could never have tasted before ; nibble his 

 sugar in the wires like an enjoyment it had been accustomed to, 

 frisk round its cage, and dress its plumage, without manifesting 

 the least apparent regret for the loss of companions or of liberty. 

 Harmless to the labours or the prospects of us lords of the crea- 

 tion as so many of our small birds are, we have none less charge- 

 able with the commission of injury than the Goldfinch ; yet its 

 blameless, innocent life does not exempt it from harm. Its 

 beauty, its melody, and its early reconciliation to confinement, 

 rendering it a desirable companion, it is captured to cheer us 

 with its manners and its voice, in airs and regions very different 

 from its native thistly downs, and apple-blossom bowers." 



BRODERIP well observes, that " the debonnaire Goldfinch 

 builds one of the most elegant nests that our English Finches 

 produce : moss, lichens, wool, and grass, artistically intertwined 

 form the outside of the fabric, which is generally hidden in a 

 quiet orchard or secluded garden, where, in the midst of some 

 evergreen an arbutus, perchance it is protected from the pry- 

 ing eye by the compact leafy screen of the well-grown healthy 

 shrub ; the delicate down of willows, or dwarf early-seeding 

 plants, the choicest lamb's wool, and the finest hair, form the 

 warm lining, in which the blueish-white eggs, dotted with a few 

 rich brown spots, are deposited." 



112. THE SISKIN. 



FringiUa Spinus, LIN. Tarin, BUF. Der Zeisig, BECH. 

 Description. This well known Cage-bird is four inches and 

 three quarters in length, of which the tail measures one inch 

 and three quarters. The beak is four lines in length, and 

 contracted towards the point, which is very sharp. The tip 

 is brown ; the rest light grey, except in winter, when it be- 

 comes white. The shanks are seven lines in height, and, with 

 the claws, brown. The top of the head and throat are black ; 

 the neck, cheeks, and back, green ; the latter speckled with 

 black. The rump, as well as a stripe between the eyes, the 

 under part of the neck, and the breast, are greenish yellow ; 

 the belly, vent, and groin, whitish yellow ; the two last being 

 covered with black spots. The pen feathers are black, bor- 

 dered with yellowish green on the outer plume, and after the 

 fourth, have a yellow spot near the root. The lesser wing 



