36 THE BULLFIXCH. 



The hen builds generally in those woods 

 which abound with sloe and crab-apple 

 trees, where she forms her nest, in some- 

 what a careless manner, of sticks, small 

 roots, and moss, lining it with the finest 

 iibres of roots ; in this nest she deposits 

 four or five eggs, of a pale blue-green, 

 marked with dark purple blotches and 

 small red spots. They are seldom hatched 

 before the latter end of May or the 

 beginning of June. 



When bullfinches are very young, it is 

 extremely difficult to distinguish the cock 

 from the hen ; the most certain method is 

 to pull a few feathers from the breast 

 when they are about three weeks old, and 

 in ten or twelve days after, they will begin 

 to grow again ; those of the cock birds 

 coming of a bright red, while those of the 

 hens will be of a pale brown colour. 



These birds ought not to be taken too 

 young, or before they are well feathered, which 

 will be when twelve or fourteen days old ; 

 they must be kept warm and clean, feeding 

 them every two hours, from morning till 

 night, on a kind of paste made as follows: 



