but would show me on a bird ; and when the bird was forth-

coming it was never typical of any particular kind !


Our Goldfinch has a very wide distribution, reaching east-

wards to Siberia and Persia, and southwards to the northern

shores of Africa. In Siberia it is replaced by another species,

C. caniceps (having no black on crown or nape), with which it

freely interbreeds, and specimens are found in all stages inter-

mediate between the two, as may be seen in some specimens

brought from the Yenesei by Seebohm, and now in the entrance

hall of the Natural History Museum at South Kensington. The

foreign Goldfinches, which are imported in great numbers into

this country every year, belong to a large eastern Asiatic race

known as C. major, and come from the south-west portions of

Siberia.


The Goldfinch breeds chiefly in orchards and gardens,

generally high up on the tree. The nest, which is cup-sliaped,

is composed of moss, bents, and a few roots, very neatly and

compactly woven together and lined with hair, willow down, and

a few small feathers. It is verj^ conservative as to locality,

breeding every year in the same orchard and sometimes on the

top of its former nest. The eggs are light blue, with a few

streaks of dark brown or purple, chiefly at the larger end. The

young are fed on semi-digested food from the crop, although it

has frequently been asserted that caterpillars are their diet.


It is as a cage bird, however, that it is of chief interest to

us, and it is, perhaps, the most widely kept of all cage birds.

Some like it for its song; others for its beauty and enticing ways;

others, again, because of the facility with which it may be made

to breed with the Canary, the progeny, if not beautiful, being

prized for the richness of its song.


Hybrids are also produced — though only by experts — with

the Bullfinch, this cross being one of the most beautiful of birds.

Never having possessed one, however, I am unable to speak of

the quality of its song. It may also be taught various tricks,

such as drawing up water and opening the box containing its

food ; but such performances are most unnatural, and certainly

not conducive to the birds longevity or enjoyment. They are,

therefore, greatly to be deprecated.


In the Fourth Edition of Yarrell, a quotation is given from

Syme, who writes about a number of trained Finches, which he

had seen exhibited by a certain Sieur Roman : — " One seemed

■dead, and was held up by the tail or claw without exhibiting any

sign of life ; a second stood on its head with its claws in the air ;



