134 FRINGILLID.E. 



The localities above mentioned as frequented by Green- 

 finches at most seasons of the year are also those that are 

 chosen for their summer building spots. The station itself 

 varies greatly ; some nests are placed in tall hedges, or 

 isolated thorns ; some are concealed in the thick ivy that 

 may now and then be seen crowning the withered arms of an 

 old pollard tree, where, for want of the means of climbing 

 higher, it has grown into bushy heads. They may also occa- 

 sionally be found to build in gardens on the outskirts of 

 villages and towns, probably attracted by evergreen shrubs, in 

 which this species seem much to delight for that purpose. 

 The partiality for evergreens evinced by the Greenfinch, has 

 been also noticed by Selby, who describes this species as 

 generally choosing its roosting place among holly bushes, or 

 in the warm and sheltered retreat afforded by fir-trees. 



The nest of the Greenfinch, always picturesque from the 

 diversity of the materials employed, is rather large in pro- 

 portion to the size of the bird ; the outside is loosely con- 

 structed, commencing with a platform of slight twigs and 

 bents, often intermixed with green moss ; it is then usually 

 felted with wool, within which is a lining of delicate fibrous 

 roots, and finally horse-hair laid neatly round and round ; the 

 cup is rather shallow, and broad enough to accommodate the 

 numerous family, which often amounts to seven. The most 

 elegant nest we ever met with was one built by this species. 

 It was entirely composed externally of a basket work of the 

 seed stems of shepherds-purse, (Thlaspi bursa pastoris,) 

 still garnished with their pods ; these were interwoven with 

 the white wool of which the chief substance of the nest con- 

 sisted, with their tufted heads projecting an inch or two from 

 the nest on all sides ; there was neither twig nor straw to 

 destroy the beautiful effect ; the lining was as usual fine roots 

 and hair, and it contained seven eggs, greenish-white in the 

 ground colour, dotted with lilac and dark brown about the 

 larger end. 



