NATURE'S CAROL SINGERS. 



fibrous roots, dry grass, stems, moss, and 

 wool, with an inner lining of hair, 

 feathers, rabbit and vegetable down ; 

 and is situated in gorse, and broom 

 bushes, white and black thorn bushes, 

 tall heather, and juniper. I have found 

 a nest ten feet from the ground, and 

 two nests quite upon it. 



The eggs number four to six, are grey- 

 ish-white in ground colour, tinged with 

 blue or green and speckled and spotted 

 with purple-red and reddish-brown. 



A very strange thing about this species 

 is that it appears to grow shyer during 

 the breeding season, whereas nearly all 

 other birds grow bolder. This peculiar 

 characteristic, of course, increases the 

 difficulty of photographing the creature. 



Linnets flock together as soon as the 

 breeding season is over — some of them 

 to migrate, and others to wander about 

 the country visiting stubble fields and 

 waste lands in search of seeds. It is a 

 very pleasant sight to watch a flock 

 resting on the sunlit top of some tall 

 tree on a fine winter's day, and hear the 

 sociable little birds holding a kind of 

 chattering concert. 



It is almost needless to add that the 

 Linnet is a great favourite as a cage pet. 



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