admirably smooth and even. Its beauties do not end here ; 

 the outside is equally worthy of admiration. It is covered 

 with the grey and yellow lichens, picked from the bark of 

 trees, forming a pretty contrast with the green moss, and 

 apparently ornamented according to the taste of the little 

 architect, and bound round the outside with the stalks of 

 umbelliferous plants or grasses. To these lichens the Chaf- 

 finch seems to be particularly partial, and we can attribute 

 this partiality to nothing but an unerring instinct guiding it 

 in the choice of that which shall best conceal its abode from 

 the sight of its enemies, by its resemblance to the tree upon 

 which its nest is built, which tree is frequently clothed with 

 the same lichens. I have never found its nest without a co- 

 vering of this sort, or something to substitute it. 



I was particularly struck with one, now in my possession, 

 which was built upon a branch of a large willow, in a situa- 

 tion near which no lichens grew, which has white paper torn 

 into small pieces by the bird, and with great ingenuity fixed 

 to the outside in lieu of them. Mr. Rennie mentions several 

 like instances ; he says — " I have found the nest webs of 

 spiders, bundled up into little tufts, and stuck in similarly to 

 lichens ; and in the cotton factories at Catrine, in Ayrshire, 

 I have seen many Chaffinch's nests stuck over in the same 

 manner with small tufts of cotton wool." 



The Chaffinch builds in very many different situations, 

 preferring old moss-grown apple trees, white thorn bushes, 

 and crab trees. There are, however, few trees upon the 

 branches of which its nest is not sometimes found ; occasion- 

 ally upon the flat bough of a spruce fir, in hollies, and often 

 in hedges, contrary to the opinion of Mr. Jennings, who 

 says, they " rarely or never" are found in the latter situation. 

 I once found one on the top of a stake fence. The nest is 

 small in comparison with that of most other little birds, be- 

 ing usually only one inch and three-fourths in diameter inside. 

 It contains four or five eggs, mostly like Fig. 3 of the plate, 

 sometimes varying as Fig. 4. I have the eggs from one nest 

 so much like those of the Bullfinch, that I should have con- 

 sidered them such, had I not seen the old bird upon them. 



