2o6 THE BOOK OF BIRDS 



if you watch these birds foraging for food. And if they 

 are in your neighbourhood, it will not be hard to get near 

 enough to do so, for they are not like some wild birds that 

 take flight when you are half a field away. Moreover, it is 

 easier and pleasanter to watch a bird that is neither in the 

 habit of flying high overhead nor of hopping about the 

 ground. 



During the winter flocks of Goldfinches may be seen 

 busy rifling the dry seed-vessels of thistle and dock and 

 plantain ; and if there be snow on the ground their bright 

 colours are heightened by contrast. When spring comes, 

 and the bare orchard boughs are white and rosy with 

 blossom, the dainty nest is ready, hidden away in some 

 hedge or bush or tree-fork — a marvel of delicate workman- 

 ship.^ 



By that time, too, the male bird's pretty singing is 

 heard less often. He and his mate are busy seeking out 

 grubs and insects for their little ones — feeding their hungry 

 nestlings and doing the farmer good service at the same 

 time. 



Two families are often reared in a season ; and I have 

 seen it stated that a pair of Goldfinches will sometimes 

 build as many as four nests in one year ! 



Towards the beginning of October, the full-grown broods 

 which for many weeks past have been all together in 

 flocks — like children of different families at the seaside — 

 prepare for their southward journey. Not all go ; many 

 remain, and are joined by bands of cousins from the 

 Continent. But those who travel — migrate, as it is called 



^ " Outside," says Mr. Dixon, " it is composed of dry grass-stems, moss, and 

 roots, these being bound together and garnished with spiders' webs, cocoons, and 

 bits of lichen ; it is warmly lined with vegetable down, hair, and feathers. Inside, 

 it measures about two inches across and one inch in depth." 



