SCARLET BULLFINCH. 73 



neighbourhood where little can escape the eye, the 

 beautifully-plumaged songster was easily recognised, 

 and, as we did not like to shoot it, we placed our- 

 selves at a short distance, where, unseen, we were 

 able to observe it for a considerable time. It may 

 be an agreeable cage-bird, but in confinement the red 

 plumage turns into a permanent yellowish green." 



The Scarlet Bullfinch lives tipon various kinds of 

 seeds, more especially, according to Dubois, those of 

 an oily nature, as well as those of the elm or alder. 

 Naumann also suggests that it feeds upon the seeds 

 of the reeds, among which it likes to live. The same 

 authority informs us that it nests among the woody 

 plantations in the neighbourhood of St. Petersburg. 



The nest is formed of wool, dry grass stalks, and 

 twigs, and lined with feathers and horse-hair. It lays 

 five or six eggs, light green, spotted at the larger 

 end with small black dots. 



Brehm, in Badeker's work upon European eggs, has 

 the following notice of the nidification of this bird: — 

 "They nest in the thick woods and bushes of Siberia, 

 in Lausatia, in the neighbourhood of Galitz, in Galicia, 

 and in Poland — near Warsaw, where it is found in 

 swampy situations overgrown with alder trees. Once, 

 in June, it was met with, paired, in Penthendorf. 

 The nest is placed in a bush, and is made of moss, 

 sticks, dry twigs, and sheep's wool, and is lined with 

 hair and wool. The eggs are a lively blue green 

 in colour, more or less marked with black or brownish 

 dots and spots on the larger end. They are inclined 

 to pear-shape in form, without, like the other Bull- 

 finches, being sAvollen in the middle." 



The male in breeding plumage has the small feathers 

 in the nostrils and around the neck, of a dull rose- 



