44 Peacock: The Birds of Xorfh-West Lindsey. 



1873 to 187& hundreds collected at iiii,'-lit in tlie everj^reens of the 

 two Halls and Vicarage ^'•ardens at Kastoft, in Liiicohishire, 

 and \'orkshire. 



Ha\vfinc:h. (\)ccol/i/'aiis/es vu/jj-uris Pallas. I never saw 

 this species at Bottesford till the 27th July 1886. I shot one of 

 two which were eating- peas in the Manor g-ardens. On the 

 1st of April 1890 I saw a pair in the g-arden ; on the 20th of 

 April i8yo two pairs. They remained and nested in a holly 

 bush and yew hedg-e. Others must have bred near at hand, for 

 the young- proved so destructive in the g-arden I had to shoot 

 eleven before they were driven off. They have bred ever since. 

 Has nested in the S. Kelsey Rectory g-ardens (Brewster). 

 Fairly common at Gainsboroug-h (Burton). 



Goldfinch. Carduelis elegans Stephens. Is not so com- 

 mom in N.W. Lindsey as it was 25 years ag^o. In 1880 there 

 were three nests in fruit trees in the Manor g-arden. We often 

 cag-ed up the young- just before they could fly, and allowed the 

 old birds to feed them throug-h the wires. I have reared five 

 birds from a nest in this manner. There is a local tradition 

 that the old birds poison their young-, if they are cag-ed, when 

 the proper time comes for them ' to find for their sens.' The 

 young- often die at this critical time from not havings proper 

 food and plenty of water provided. Rolled hempseed gets 

 over the food difficult}-. It must be slightly crushed, as the 

 husk of the hemp is too hard for them to crack when young. 

 The melanistic form often appears in caged birds which have 

 been fed too long wholly on hemp seed. There are only two 

 nests just round the Manor House this season, 1900. Mr. 

 Young's notes are: — 'A pair or two at Claseby, ditto Barnetby, 

 every season. I saw a family party by the roadside between 

 Gainsborough and Harpswell, September 1897.' I have often 

 seen these family parties at Bottesford in the autumn feeding on 

 thistle {Cniciis lanceolatiis) seed. But very rare!}' the seed head 

 of the common thistle (C arvensis), but it cannot be seen 

 frequently now. Mr. Hunsley writes to me, 22nd October 

 1900: —'One very seldom sees them at this work at Kirton-in- 

 Lindsey. I have seen them in large flocks in my fields. They 

 •were most useful in destroying the thistle seed, but it is years 

 ago now.' 



Siskin. (\irduelis spinus Linn. Visits us rarely in Septem- 

 ber, October, and November. There are never more than two 

 or three together. I believe it is this species which cracks the 

 J^udf seeds and feeds on the kernels. I have never seen them 



Naturalist, 



