SCARLET BULLFINCH. 71 



bourhood of dwellings, where it can be sheltered 

 among' the shrubs. It is very fond of moist situations, 

 and is frequently found among the bushes on the banks 

 of rivers, lakes, and ponds, where it may be seen on 

 the willows or reeds. 



Naumann has given a very complete account of the 

 bird, from which I have gathered the following: — ■ 

 "For several years, in the early spring, a pair of 

 these birds were seen near Breslau, among the wil- 

 lows and reeds of a swampy district. The male and 

 female were always near together, and the former 

 sung gaily. They were both killed at a single shot, 

 but the female was not found. The male is now in 

 the museum at Berlin. Later another pair were also 

 shot. 



"This bird does not, according to my observation, 

 like large thick woods. I have seen it where there 

 was none at all, namely, at Sylt, in Jutland. In one 

 part of this island there are no other species of trees 

 but small thorn bushes. 



"In the northern narrow part of the island, where, 

 between high sand downs, a narrow creek runs into 

 the land, is a little thicket surrounded by a low earthen 

 wall, in which is the renowned duck decoy. The 

 ponds, canals, and the decoy man's house are all 

 surrounded by alder trees and thorn bushes. There 

 is also a thick reed-bank, about ten feet high, which 

 is all the protection that the neighbouring downs re- 

 ceive from the devastating north-west storms. * Altogether 

 it is not more than a hundred paces in circuit. The 

 Avood is quite stunted, yet it is, for such a neighbour- 

 hood, a very interesting spot; and for me it became 

 still more so when I myself met with a Scarlet 

 Bullfinch, which I had never seen before in its free 



