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insects, and do not disgorge the food for them. The gold- 

 finch, when its young are more advanced in age, gives to 

 them grains more difficult of digestion, but never without 

 softening them in its crop, and disgorging them like the 

 canaries. It is so much attached to its progeny, that if shut 

 up with them in a cage, it will continue to take care of them 

 at the very epoch when liberty is so dear to other birds, that 

 few of them survive its loss. But to manage this properly 

 with the gold-finch, it must receive abundance of groundsel, 

 &EC., and particularly the seed of the thistle, which is its 

 favourite food, and from which its French name (Chardon- 

 neret) is derived. It is also sometimes called, in our lan- 

 guage, the Thistle-finch. The fowlers, accordingly, who 

 lay various snares for these birds, make use of thistle-seed as 

 their bait. 



While the female is hatching, the male remains near her, 

 singing on a neighbouring tree. He rarely moves, unless 

 disturbed ; then he flies away, but for a very short time, for 

 this is only a feint on his part, to prevent the nest from being 

 discovered ; he is soon seen to return. The female shows a 

 still greater attachment for her young ; nothing can distract 

 her from the business of incubation. Her constancy is admi- 

 rable. For the preservation of her eggs, especially at the 

 moment they are about to disclose the young, she braves 

 every thing, and endures every thing. The impetuous wind, 

 the continued rain, the hail-storm, can neither terrify nor tire 

 her. The male never quits her ; he accompanies her in all 

 those courses which the exigency of food or the construction 

 of the nest may require ; but he does not partake either of 

 the latter labour, or of that of incubation. He simply 

 watches for her safety, while she is on the ground, either 

 seeking food, or materials to build her nest, and is always 

 perched on the nearest tree. This female gives to her nest 

 a greater solidity, a better rounded, and even a more elegant 



