THE GREENFINCH. 343 
with the bark, that it can scarcely be discerned even when the observer has 
climbed the tree and is looking down upon the nest. The bird, too, seldom 
flies directly in or out of the nest, but alights at a little distance from her 
tree, and then slips quietly through the leaves until she reaches her eggs or 
oung. 
: The materials of which the exterior of the nest is made differ according tc 
the tree in which itis placed. In general, fine grasses, wool, hairs, and very 
slender twigs are employed in constructing the walls, and the interior is 
softly lined with feathers, down, and hairs. The eggs are generally four or 
five in number, and delicately marked with small dots and streaks of light 
purplish brown upon a white ground, having a tinge of blue, something like 
“sky-blue” milk. : . : 
THE GREENFINCH is one of our commonest birds, being resident in this 
country throughout the year, and not even requiring a partial migration. 
It is mostly found in hedges, bushes, and copses; and as it is a bold and 
familiar bird, is in the habit of frequenting the habitations of men, and even 
building its nest within close proximity to houses or gardens, When young 
the bird is fed almost wholly upon cater- 
pillars and various insects, and not 
until it has attained its full growth 
does it try upon the hard seeds the 
large bill which has obtained for it the 
title of Green Grosbeak. 
The nest of this bird is generally 
built rather later than is usual with 
the Finches, and is seldom completed 
until May has fairly set in. Its sub- 
stance is not unike that of the chaf- 
finch, being composed of roots, wool, 
moss, and feathers. It isnot, however, 
so neatly made, nor so finely woven 
together, as the nest of that bird. The 
eggs are from three to five in num- ote . 
ber, and the colour is bluish white, | GREENFINCH.—(Fringilla chloris.) 
covered at the larger end with spots of brown and grey. 
Few birds are better known than the Common LinNET, although the 
change of plumage to which it is subject in the different seasons of the year 
has caused the same bird, while in its winter plumage, tr be considered as 
distinct from the same individual in its summer dress, xcept during the 
breeding season, the Linnets associate in flocks, flying from spot to spot, and 
feeding upon the seeds of various plants, evidently preferring those of the 
thistle, dandelion, and various cruciferous plants. 
The nest of this bird is strangely variable in the positions which it occupies, 
sometimes being placed at a considerable height upon a tree, and at other times 
built in some bush quite close to the ground, the latter being the usual 
locality chosen by the bird. The full number of the eggs is five, and the 
colour is mostly blue, spotted with dark brown, and a rather faint and 
undecided purple. ; 
The summer plumage of the male bird is as follows: On the top of the 
head the feathers are greyish brown at their base, but are tipped with bright 
vermilion, a tint which contrasts well with the ashen grey-brown of the face 
and back of the neck. The upper parts of the body are warm chestnut, and 
the wing is black, excepting the narrower exterior webs, which are white. 
‘The chin and throat are grey, the breast bright red slightly dappled with 
brown, and the under, portions of the body are grey-brown, taking a yellowish 
