Passeres 75 



remains with us till March, for supposed instances of 

 its breeding in Britain are erroneous. Huge flocks 

 often visit us, but are much rarer in the west and in 

 Ireland ; abroad it spends the summer in Subarctic 

 Europe and Asia, where it builds a rougher nest than 

 the Chaffinch on the trees or bashes that are available, 

 and lays very similar eggs. It is extremely fond of 

 beech-mast, and is therefore commonly met with in 

 winter on the ground under beech trees, but it also 

 eats seeds in general as well as insects. The summer 

 habits are a little different from those of its congener, 

 as might be imagined in a far northern climate, while 

 the song, if it should so be called, is harsh and jarring. 

 The black upper parts, and white for green rump dis- 

 tinguish the male from the cock Chaffinch. The female 

 is chiefly brown above. 



That well-known cage-bird . the Linnet {Acanthis 

 cannabina) is a resident in Britain in the usual sense 

 of the word ; that is, the flocks move southwards within 

 the kingdom in winter and are joined by large numbers 

 from the Continent. Abroad it ranges in its various forms 

 over the Palaearctic region to Kashmir. Bird-catchers 

 know it as the Grey, Brown, or Red Linnet, the reason 

 for the various names being that breeding males have 

 the brown plumage decorated with red on the forehead, 

 crown, and breast, while hens and individuals not in 

 perfect plumage exhibit no red, which is, moreover, 

 generally lost in captivity. Restless at the nest, and 

 shy at all times. Linnets are usually seen flocking to 

 the stubbles to feed, flitting about gorse-covers, or 

 passing overhead with a somewhat jerky flight as they 

 litter reiterated twittering notes ; in a cage the song 

 seems to become more full and to consist partly of 



