BRAMBLING. 97 



layasj Chinas and Japan. The BramMing does not appear to have any- 

 nearer ally than the Chaffinch, from which it is easily distinguished hy its 

 black and white instead of green rump. 



The Brambling is an arctic hird. As soon as the south wind begins to 

 drive away the snow which has paved the forests for eight months or more, 

 Bramblings arrive in large flocks and disperse themselves in the birch- 

 forests to breed. The glossy black contrasting with the pure white and 

 brilliant buff make the male a very conspicuous bird ; and at all hours he 

 may be seen flying about in the sunshine, for he seldom reaches his 

 breeding-quarters before the sun has ceased to set. 



They are early breeders and generally have eggs before June, at least a 

 fortnight earlier than the arrival of the later birds of passage which visit 

 these regions. They prefer birch-forests ; and I have generally found them 

 most numerous in plantations where spruce-firs are mixed with the birch, 

 and where there is an occasional larch, alder, or juniper. Brilliant as is 

 the plumage of the Brambling, he is not so conspicuous as might be 

 imagined. The bark on the birch trees presents almost as strong contrasts 

 in black and white ; and in August I have seen as brilliant yellows on the 

 birch-leaves and as gorgeous chromes and Indian reds on the poplars as 

 any thing on the plumage of the Brambling. The autumnal tints of the 

 Siberian forests, if it is allowable to use the term in a country where 

 summer suddenly changes to winter and there is no autumn, are as brilliant 

 as the celebrated autumn tints of North America. 



The Brambling is a quiet bird, in this respect very different from his near 

 ally the Chaffinch. The song of the male is very rarely heard ; it is not 

 unmusical, but is a short, low warble. The note most frequently heard, 

 which is probably the call-note, is a zh long drawn out, not unlike the call- 

 note of the Greenfinch. The alarm-note is a hurried ziv, ziv. The Bramb- 

 ling is almost as omnivorous as the Sparrow, and devours seeds, fruit, and 

 insects of all sorts. When they first arrive they eagerly frequent the bare 

 patches of cultivated land where the snow has melted; and beyond the 

 range of cultivation they frequent the open places in the woods, no doubt 

 eating the ground-fruit which has been frozen up all winter. The enor- 

 mous flocks which visit Germany in autumn very largely frequent the 

 beech-forests, and thousands of these birds may be seen under the beech 

 trees shelling the fallen mast. They are said to feed their young ex- 

 clusively with insects. In August the Bramblings begin again to flock, 

 and by the middle of September many have left their breeding-grounds. 

 Naumann says that in Central Europe a few Bramblings appear amongst the 

 Chaffinches towards the end of September. In the first half of October 

 small flocks appear, but in the last half of that month very large flocks 

 pass through to winter further south. In England the migration of this bird 

 is not so regular. Of its occurrence in Yorkshire Dixon writes as follows :— 



VOL. II. ^ 



