Birds. 301 



The Twite. A few twites or mountain linnets assist the grey species 

 in clearing our stubbles of the seeds of obnoxious weeds during win- 

 ter, but I am not aware that they do any harm to our crops in autumn. 



The Greenfinch. Even the least attentive observer of living Na- 

 ture cannot fail to remark the fitful, frolicsome flight of the green 

 linnet, during the breeding season ; how he circles and plunges about 

 the elm trees in May and June, rifling their seed-bunches, and filling 

 the air with his garrulous song. During the summer months it sub- 

 sists largely upon insects and their larvae, as well as upon the downy 

 seeds of the groundsel and dandelion, alighting adroitly upon the 

 stems, bearing them to the earth, and feasting at its leisure. Turnip- 

 seed, and the seeds of the chickweed, charlocks and various grasses, 

 &c., also enter into their bill of fare, till the crops of wheat and oats 

 begin to ripen, when they occasionally do some damage along the 

 borders of the fields, but when the grain is cut and carried they search 

 the stubbles in large flocks, which are fully as animated and as amu- 

 sing in their habits as those of the grey linnet. Green linnets may 

 be daily seen in our yards all the year round, though of course they 

 are most abundant during the inclement months of winter, when they 

 pilfer the exposed ears of corn from the sides of the stacks, and 

 search the cattle-yards, and by the barn-door. 



The Bunting or Corn Bunting. There is a fact connected with 

 the local distribution of the corn bunting which puzzles me very 

 much. It is abundant on the sunny-side hills which divide our val- 

 ley from that of the Tyne, also on some high grounds to the westward, 

 and yet it is only known as a rare straggler on this farm, and I have 

 only seen it three or four times in the stack-yard. However, I am 

 sufficiently acquainted with its habits to be able to say that it feeds 

 largely upon insects, small seeds and grain, and that it frequents the 

 neighbouring stack-yards all the year round. Mr. Knapp, in his very 

 pleasant 'Journal of a Naturalist,' accuses this bird of doing much da- 

 mage to ricks or stacks of barley, by pulling out the straws to get at 

 the ears : now 1 candidly confess that, along with all my countrymen 

 to whom I have mentioned this statement, I was sceptical of its accu- 

 racy. However, I thought it unfair to pass an opinion on the same, 

 until I had made enquiries about the method in which stacks are built 

 in Gloucestershire ; so I applied to a relation, who has resided for a 

 few months in Mr. Knapp's neighbourhood, and an answer has been 

 returned that oats and barley are never bound into sheaves, but are 

 harvested like hay. It aff'ords me very sincere delight to be able to 



