62 GKAMINIVOR.E. 



hair and feathers, and very generally with vegetable down, 

 most frequently that of the thistles and other composite, bnt 

 sometimes of the willow or other plants. In the neighbour- 

 hood of cotton or flax manufactories, gold-finches (and many 

 other birds) find an ample supply of nesting materials in the 

 mill-wastes, whether these consist of cotton-wool or of the 

 more light and flocculent parts of the flax. 



The female begins to lay about the middle of May, and the 

 number of eggs in each of the three hatches (in very cold and 

 "backward places there are only two) varies from three to six ; 

 they are of a pale bluish white, with little reddish-brown 

 specks thinly scattered, except at the larger end. The mother 

 sits very closely and determinedly no violence of the weather 

 will drive her from her nest : and considering the way in 

 which they are sometimes shaken by the winds, it is rather 

 surprising that so few of the nests are blown down, even in 

 gales and whirlwinds. The male is also very attentive, and 

 continues his song later than almost any bird ; indeed, he may 

 be heard in the winter, and sometimes even when there is 

 snow upon the ground. That might be expected, as the best 

 livery of the plumage and the energy of the bird are kept up 

 with little variation throughout the year. 



It is worthy of remark, too, that the harvest of the gold- 

 finch is more continual than that of almost any other bird, 

 as there are always some of the plants upon which it feeds in 

 seed. But the birds feed mostly on the wing, or perched on 

 the plants (except in the case of the broods when very 

 young), and rarely pick up seeds from the ground. The 

 removal of the crops does not, therefore, make the stubble- 

 fields kuch rich pastures to them, as they are to many other 

 birds ; and hence, in Britain at least, they do not assemble in 

 such numerous flocks. The packs in which they are found 

 during the winter, rarely exceed the number which might be 

 expected from the three broods of the season and the parent 



