THE PERCHING- BIRDS 



525 



the Red, Brown, and Grey Linnets — existed. It is now known that these are all phases of 

 plumage common to one species. In the male in full summer dress the forehead and centre 

 of the crown are blood-red, whilst the breast is of a glossy rose-red; but these bright colours 

 do not seem to be acquired so universally as is the case with other birds which don a special 

 breeding-dress, nor are they ever developed in captivity. Occasionally what are called Lemon- 

 BREASTED varieties of the linnet occur in which the rose-colour of the breast is replaced by yellow. 

 The BuivLFlNCH, though one of the common British birds, is by no means so abundant as 

 the two foregoing species; for whilst the other two travel in small flocks, the bullfinch is a 

 solitary bird. Few birds perhaps have earned a more evil name than the bullfinch, which 

 is accused by the gardener of inflicting enormous damage on the flower-buds of fruit-trees in 

 winter and spring. "On the other hand," writes Mr. Hudson, "he is gready esteemed as a 

 cage-bird, and the bird-catchers are ever on the watch for it. But the effect in both cases 

 is pretty much the same, since the hatred that slays and the love that makes captive are 

 equally disastrous to the species." That it 

 is diminishing in many districts there can be 

 no doubt, and perhaps its final extermination 

 is only a matter of time. Though by no 

 means a remarkable songster in a wild state, 

 in captivity it is capable of learning to whistle 

 strains and airs of human composition with 

 some skill, good performers fetching high 

 prices. 



The Sparrow and the wild Canary of 

 IVIadeira — from the latter of which our cage- 

 pets have been derived — are also members of 

 the Finch Tribe, but are too well known to 

 need fuller mention. 



Closely allied to the finches are the 

 Buntings, which are really only slightly 

 modified finches. Several species are British 

 birds, one of the commonest being the CORN- 

 BUNTING, a bird which bears a wonderful 

 resemblance to a skylark, from which, how- 

 ever, it may be distinguished by its large 

 beak and small claw on the hind toe. 



The Yellowammer, or Yellowiiam- 

 MER, is another familiar roadside form in 

 England, which scarcely needs description. 



The most celebrated of all the buntings 

 is the Ortolan, or Green-headed Bunting, a bird resembling its congener the yellowhammer, 

 but lacking its bright coloration. It has acquired fame from the delicate flavour of its flesh, 

 and to supply the demand for this delicacy immense numbers are netted annually by the 

 bird-catchers of the Continent. Wintering in North Africa, these birds leave Europe in 

 September in large flocks, and it is during this migration and the return journey in the 

 spring that their ranks are so mercilessly thinned. Common over the greater part of Europe, 

 it is somewhat surprising that the ortolan does not occur more frequently in the British 

 Islands, where it is only an occasional spring and autumn visitor. 



The Snow-bunting, or Snowflake, is a regular winter visitant to the British Islands, some 

 pairs indeed remaining to breed in the Highlands of Scotland every year, whilst its presence 

 serves to enliven some of the dreariest spots of high northern latitudes. The male in 

 breeding-dress is a handsome bird, having the upper-parts black and the under white; its 

 mate is somewhat duller, the black parts being obscured by greyish white, fulvous, and blackish 



PhoU by J. T. Niwman 



GREENFINCH 



Commoiily known ai the Green Linnet 



