112 GREENFINCH. 



unpleasant, but its common note is like the chirp of 

 the House Sparrow, only shriller. 



It is a somewhat late breeder, the nest being com- 

 menced in April. The favourite position is in a hole 

 of a tree, usually of a pollard-willow, and near the top 

 of the stump. Sometimes, too, it will build in the 

 thatch of barns, and occasionally in the deserted nest 

 of a Crow or Magpie, in which case the nest is domed. 

 It is similar in its construction to the House Sparrow's 

 nest, but perhaps not so large. It is made of hay 

 and straw, and lined with wool and feathers. 



The eggs are dull white, speckled all over finely and 

 thickly with light shades of greyish brown. They 

 much resemble those of the House Sparrow, but are 

 smaller, and generally darker and redder. They do 

 not seem to vary much in their markings, and are, as 

 a rule, much more thickly and finely marked than eggs 

 of the House Sparrow. 



GREENFINCH. 



FRINGILLA CHLORIS. 



Family PASSERID.E. Sub-family FRINGILLIN^;. Genus FRIN- 

 GILLA. 



Green Grosbeak Green Linnet Green Bird. 



A well-known bird, whose favourite haunts are the 

 shrubberies of gardens, and the hedges around cul- 

 tivated fields. In these places it may be found 

 throughout the British Islands. It is a resident bird, 

 but its numbers are largely increased by autumn 

 migrations. 



Greenfinches seem very sociable birds, and it is 

 no uncommon thing to find several nests in close 



