262 fbingillidjE. 



favourably circumstanced, this bird is not to be found, or only 

 as an occasional visitant. Of all our indigenous species, the 

 beautiful goldfinch seems the most capricious. In one instance, 

 it is known to me, as entirely deserting a part of the country winch 

 had been regularly frequented, after a small portion of a mountain- 

 side covered with thistles from time immemorial, was reclaimed, 

 and planted with forest trees. From other localities, I have known 

 the goldfinch, without any apparent reason, flit away, and, unlike 

 many other birds, never revisit the place of its nativity. As the 

 country around Belfast has become more populous, their numbers 

 have decreased. The romantic neighbourhood of Cushendall, 

 about forty miles distant, is now their stronghold in this quarter, 

 the goldfinch being there, a very common bird. It is pleasing 

 to witness the social manner in which they feed, several being 

 often engaged regaling upon the seed of a single thistle ; on a 

 moderate-sized plant of the more humble knapweed (Centaurea 

 nigra) I have seen four of them thus occupied at the same time : 

 — the seed of the ragwort (or ragweed, as it is called in the north 

 of Ireland,) is also favourite food. They are very easily alarmed 

 when feeding, and fly off hurriedly in little companies, uttering 

 their pleasing and lively call. In addition to seeds of various 

 kinds found in the stomachs of specimens killed in the months of 

 January and February, I have, though very rarely, observed the 

 remains of coleopterous insects : fragments of stone or brick were 

 always present. 



Although this species frequents gardens and well-kept grounds, 

 especially for the purpose of nesting, it seems to prefer such 

 parts of the country as are in some degree wild. Its visits to 

 the farm are certainly not to be considered as complimentary 

 to the owner, for when most out of order and run to weeds, it 

 presents the greatest attraction to the goldfinch. During snow, 

 these birds have been taken in trap-cages baited with flax-seed; 

 sometimes in company with chaffinches. For two years succes- 

 sively, goldfinches built in a cherry-tree within ten paces of a 

 house in which I lived, when they and their young (in each 

 instance four in number) proved highly interesting. I have seen 



