200 TREATISE ON 



LESSER REDPOLE. 



FRINGILLA LINARIA; LINN^US. LE SIZERIN, OU 



LA PETITE LINOTTE DES VIGNES ; BUFFON. 



This is a pretty little bird, nearly allied to the 

 preceding species. Perhaps its natural song is 

 rather inferior to theirs ; yet, with care, it may 

 become a good cage bird : For that purpose it ought 

 to be placed beside a canary or linnet. 



In spring and summer they fi-equent the north- 

 em comities of England and southern borders of 

 Scotland, where they breed. The nest is composed 

 of bent, moss, and willow-down ; and lined with 

 the down of the willow, thistle, or cotton-grass. 

 The eggs are of a bluish-white, tinged with very 

 pale bluish-green, and freckled with reddish 

 orange-coloured spots, principally at the large end, 

 Mr Pennant found the nest of this bird on an al- 

 der stump : It was lined with hair, but, in other 

 respects, resembled that mentioned above; and 

 the eggs, four in number, were the same as those 

 already described. He also says: " The bird was 

 so tenacious of her nest as to suffer us to take her 

 off with our hand ; and we found, after we had re- 



