§52 FRINGILLIDA. 
Redpole will still retain the specific name of linaria, by 
which it has been so long known, and thus another change 
will be avoided. 
Our Common Linnet, which, assuming in the breeding 
season a red colour on the breast, is then called the Rose 
Linnet, and at other times the Brown Linnet, is a well 
known species, existing in great numbers on most of the 
uncultivated lands of this country, appearing to prefer com- 
mons and fields of furze. The gay and active habits of 
this species, their sprightly and agreeable notes, would 
enliven a dreary scene, while their social disposition in 
confinement render them great favourites with those who 
are partial to caged birds. Except during the breeding 
season, these birds are usually seen in flocks, rovmg from 
place to place, feeding generally upon small seeds, par- 
ticularly those of the cruciform plants, with other seeds 
of flax,* thistle, and dandelion. 
In the pairing season, the thickest parts of furze bushes 
are generally selected as the place for incubation, and the 
birds begin building early in spring. The nest is usually 
formed of small twigs on the outside, with bents of grass, 
lined with wool, and sometimes with the addition of hair 
or feathers. I have known the Linnet’s nest to be placed 
high in a whitethorn bush, and I have a note of one that 
was found in a fir tree, ten or eleven feet above the ground. 
The eggs are four or five in number, of a pale bluish white 
colour, speckled with pale purple and reddish brown; the 
length nine lines, by six lines and a half in breadth. 
When the broods are reared, and the summer over, these 
birds again flock together, feeding on the stubble grounds, 
and waste lands; and in the maritime counties, Mr. Selby 
* The Linnets were probably so named from their partiality to the seeds of 
the various species of flax,—Linum, Linaria, Linota, La Linotte, Linnet. 
