103 



Finches. It is tolerably common in Belgium ; but Schlegel says nothing respecting its presence 

 during the summer in Holland, except that, according to Nozeman, it is stated to breed in 

 Gelderland. In France it is generally distributed as far south as the Pyrenees ; and according 

 to Professor Barboza du Bocage it inhabits the northern portion of Portugal, being met with 

 chiefly in the wooded mountainous districts; but it is not included by Colonel Irby in his 

 ' Ornithology of the Straits of Gibraltar,' and Mr. Saunders informs me that he never met with 

 it in Spain. In Savoy it is numerous in the wooded mountains : and the large species is also 

 stated to occur there ; but I cannot indorse this statement, and think it must be founded on error. 

 In Italy it inhabits the mountains as high up as the birch-region, and ranges as far south as 

 Naples, visiting Sicily but rarely ; and it has not been recorded from Sardinia. Mr. C. A. Wright 

 records it (Ibis, 1864, p. 50) as a very rare visitant to Malta; and only four instances have come 

 to his knowledge, viz. two caught in March 1835, one in 1840, and a fourth some years after- 

 wards. In Southern Germany it is tolerably widely distributed ; and Mr. Seidensacher informed 

 me that a few breed in Styria, but in the winter season it is rather rare, at least near Cilli. 

 Dr. Anton Fritsch states (J. f. O. 1871, p. 309) that it breeds in the mountains of Bohemia and 

 wanders about the country during the winter season. He also remarks that during passage the 

 Northern Bullfinch also visits Bohemia. All the specimens I have seen from Greece are referable 

 to the Northern Bullfinch, and not to the present species ; and probably this latter takes the 

 place of Pyrrhula europcea entirely in Eastern Europe. Neither species has been met with in 

 North-eastern Africa ; but Loche states that it is a rare visitant to Algeria, and makes mention 

 of two examples exposed for sale in the market of Algiers. 



Essentially an inhabitant of the woodlands, the Bullfinch is found only in groves, gardens, 

 and woods both in the mountains and plains, but in places where the undergrowth is tolerably 

 dense, or in localities where bushes are thickly scattered around ; and I have often met with it 

 in such places where open fields or meadows are in the immediate vicinity. Though wary and 

 cautious, it is not a shy bird, and is harmless and good-tempered towards others of its own 

 species, being tolerably fond of companionship, and in the autumn and winter is frequently seen 

 in small companies or flocks. It is lively and cheerful in its general habits, and is active and 

 agile in its movements through the foliage and bushes; but on the ground it is heavy and 

 somewhat awkward, moving by short, somewhat crooked, hops. Its flight is tolerably swift and 

 undulating ; but though it can and does occasionally fly considerable distances, yet, as a rule, it 

 is generally seen flitting from bush to bush or tree to tree. Its call-note is a soft, plaintive 

 whistle resembling the syllables hoop, hoop, or dyou, dyou ; and by imitating this note it may often 

 be enticed within gunshot-range. Its song is mellow, but not remarkable for either power or 

 variety ; and both male and female sing, though the former has a far better song than the latter 

 and sings more frequently. The song consists of a series of short broken notes intermixed with 

 a few more prolonged ones, and some few rather harsh notes. Bechstein not inaptly describes 

 it by the following syllables : — si, tit, tit, tit, tit, si, re, tit, tit, tit, ut, tit, tit, si, re, tit, la, tit, mi, 

 tit, la, amongst which harsh notes dretschei aahi are always intermixed. It sings at almost all 

 seasons of the year, though chiefly in the spring. When singing, the male usually sits erect on 

 an elevated perch, jerks his wings, and twitches the tail and hinder portion of his body, first to 

 one and then to the other side, every now and then quickly spreading and closing his tail. It is 



M 



