445 



5 



writer. This gentleman wrote (Trans. Linn. Soc. ix. p. 191) as follows: — "I visited a large 

 furze-common in my neighbourhood, and where I had seen several the preceding autumn ; and 

 upon close search on the 16th July three pairs of old birds were observed, two of which had 

 young evidently, by their extreme clamour, and by frequently appearing with food in their bills. 

 On the 17th my researches were renewed ; and after three hours' watching the motions of another 

 pair, I discovered the nest with three young ; it was placed amongst the dead branches of the 

 thickest furze, about two feet from the ground, slightly fastened between the main stems, not in 

 a fork. On the same day a pair were observed to be busied carrying materials for building ; and 

 by concealing myself in the bushes I soon discovered the place of nidification, and, upon 

 examination, found the nest was just begun. As early as the 19th the nest appeared to be 

 finished; but it possessed only one egg on the 21st, and on the 26th it contained four, when the 

 nest and eggs were secured. 



" The nest- is composed of dry vegetable stalks, particularly goose-grass, mixed with the 

 tender dead branches of furze, not sufficiently hardened to become prickly ; these are put 

 together in a very loose manner, and intermixed very sparingly with wool. In one of the nests 

 was a single Partridge's feather. The lining is equally sparing ; for it consists only of a few dry 

 stalks of some fine species of Carex, without a single leaf of the plant, and only two or three of 

 the panicles. This thin flimsy structure, which the eye pervades in all parts, much resembles 

 the nest of the White-throat." .... The young birds Montagu took from the nest and kept in 

 confinement. " Before they left the nest," he writes, " I put them into a pair of scales, and 

 found that they weighed about two drams and a quarter each. At this time they ate in one day 

 about one dram and a quarter each ; so that in two days each consumed more than its own 

 weight. Such a repletion is almost incredible, and doubtless greatly beyond what the parent 

 birds could usually supply them with, which by observation appeared to consist of variety, and 

 not unfrequently small Phalcenoe ; their growth, however, was in proportion to the large supply 



of food The nestling attachment of these little birds was very conspicuous towards the 



dusk of the evening ; for a long time after they had forsaken the nest they became restless and 

 apparently in search of a roosting-place, flying about the cage for half an hour, or until it was 

 too dark to move with safety, when a singular soft note was uttered by one which had chosen a 

 convenient spot for the night, at which instant they all assembled, repeating the same plaintive 

 cry. In this interesting scene, as warmth was the object of all, a considerable bustle ensued, in 

 order to obtain an inward berth, those on the outside alternately perching upon the others and 

 forcing in between them. During this confusion, which sometimes continued for a few minutes, 

 the cuddling-note was continually emitted, and in an instant all was quiet. 



" Nothing can exceed the activity of these little creatures ; they are in perpetual motion the 

 whole day, throwing themselves into various attitudes and gesticulations, erecting the crest and 

 tail at intervals, accompanied by a double or triple cry, which seems to express the words cha, 

 cha, cha. They frequently take their food while suspended to the wires with their heads down- 

 wards, and not unusually turn over backwards on the perch. The males, of which there were 

 three out of the four, began to sing with the appearance of the mature feathers, and continued 

 in song all the month of October, frequently with scarcely any intermission for several hours 

 together. The notes are entirely native, consisting of considerable variety, delivered in a hurried 



