194 TREATISt: ON 



ble. It builds in wild and lonely situations, among 

 furze and heath, or in low bushes of natural wood. 

 Its nest is formed of bent and dry grass, lined 

 ivith fine hair, cotton-grass, or willow-cotton. 



The eggs, four or five in number, are of a tint 

 between bluish and greenish- white, sprinkled with 

 purplish-brown spots, that form a zone near tlie 

 large end. 



The redpole never builds near the habitations of 

 men, like the linnet. It is found, in spring and sum- 

 mer, among the mid and heathy mountains along 

 the Scottish and English borders, and on the wolds 

 of Yorkshire. There, in a state of freedom, thi# 

 little warbler " wastes the sweetness of its son^ 

 upon the desert," amid the furze tliat blossoms* 

 o'er its nest. 



The young for a considerable time resemble the 

 female, and, if caught in that state, seldom acquire 

 the red feathers which distinguish the male when i 

 wild. In winter it migrates southward in flocks. 

 Tlie young are reared, and they and the old are 

 managed, in every respect as linnets and gold- 

 finches. 



Description and Fliimage\ 

 \ The greater redpole is, as we before remarked, 



