102 BULLFINCH. 



materials, such as dry grass, and a little moss, wool or 

 feathers. 



The eggs, four or five in number, are pale 

 greenish blue in ground colour, others are almost 

 white. They are spotted, chiefly at the larger end, 

 with small dark-brown spots, and with underlying 

 spots of reddish brown. Some varieties slightly 

 resemble eggs of the Greenfinch, but they are usually 

 larger. The curious feature of this bird is the bill, 

 the upper and lower parts of which cross. The Cross- 

 bill can be easily reconciled to a caged life, but it is 

 very likely to die when moulting comes on. Meyer 

 had one which "was very fond of climbing about its 

 cage like a parrot, by means of its hooked beak " . 



BULLFINCH. 



PYRRHULA VULGARIS. 



Family PASSERID/E. Sub-family FRINGILLIN/E. Genus PYRR- 

 HULA. 



Nope Pope Alp Olph Hoop Red Hoop. 



Most of us, from the frequency w r ith which we see 

 this bird caged, must be familiar with the Bullfinch. 

 It is a common resident bird throughout all the 

 wooded parts of Great Britain, but in Ireland it is 

 not met with so commonly. On account of its shy 

 and retiring habits, and its love for the densely wooded 

 parts, it is commonly looked upon as a much rarer 

 bird than it really is. It may also be sometimes seen 

 in gardens and orchards. Its food consists of berries 

 and fruits and various kinds of seeds ; but when in 

 the garden it has a great liking for the young fruit- 

 buds of the trees and bushes, which it devours in great 



