8 



although apt to become disagreeable from its being so frequently repeated without the least 

 variation. The people in the south of Scotland most unpoetically imagine the song of the 

 Chaffinch to resemble the words ' wee, wee, wee, wee, drunken sowie,' to which no doubt it bears 

 some resemblance. In the lanes and gardens it is almost incessantly heard from the beginning 

 of May to the middle of June, or considerably earlier if the weather be fine ; but its quality is by 

 no means in harmony with the beauty of the bird, which is such as to attract the most unob- 

 servant as it hops familiarly along the road, or perches on the boughs." The Chaffinch feeds 

 during the spring and summer principally on insects, and on grain at other seasons. According 

 to Naumann, it feeds on both the oily and also the mealy sorts of seed. Next to hempseed it 

 prefers the seeds of the Galeopsis, especially those of G. tetrahit. It is also fond of all sorts of 

 cabbage-seed (including all the varieties of Linne's genus Brassica), mustard- and radish-seed, 

 linseed, poppy- and lettuce-seeds, those of various sorts of wild grasses, and, in the forests, the 

 seeds of pine, spruce, alder, and birch trees, beech-nuts, and occasionally the seeds of the bird- 

 cherry. 



During the summer season, however, they feed principally on insects and larvae, coleoptera 

 of various kinds, flies, and even gnats, and sometimes catch winged insects in the air. 



The specimens described and figured are in Dresser's collection ; full particulars of locality 

 &c. are given above. 



In the preparation of the above article we have examined the following specimens : — 



E Mus. E. E. Dresser. 



a, d- Hampstead, near London, May. b, c, d, 3. Hampstead, October. e,juv. Hampstead, September. 

 f,d- Highgate, September 30th {Davy), g, $. West Drayton, Sussex, June 22nd (Paraman). h, d- 

 Hareskov, Denmark, January 7th (Benzon) . i, ? . Falster, Denmark (Benzon) . k, d . Stockholm, 

 April 2nd, 1872. I, d. Jonkoping, March 11th, 1868. m, 3 • Piedmont, March, n, d , 0, d- April. 

 p, q, r, d . May (Count Salvadori). s, ? . Granada, Spain, January 1871 (Sanchez). 



E Mus. Ind. Calc. 



a, b, c, d. Near Shiraz, Persia, September 1870 (W. T. Blanford). d, e, 5. Oak-forest, near Shiraz, June 

 1870 (W. T. B.). f,ff, d. Anan Mazendaran, N. Persia, August 11th, 1872 (W. T. B.). h, $. Karij 

 Valley, Elburz Mountains, Persia, August 10th, 1872 (W. T. B.). 



E Mus. H. B. Tristram. 



a, d, b, 2- Greatham (H. B. T.) . c, d ■ Cedars of Lebanon, June 16th (H. B. T.) . d, § . Nahr El Kilb, 

 November 24th, 1863 (H. B. T.). 



E Mus. J. H. Gumey, jim. 



a, b, c, d ■ Greatham. d, d ■ North Repps, January, e, d . Edinburgh, July. /, J . Bamborough, April 

 (J. H. G.Jun.). 



