BIRDS 139 



that grow beside the fell homestead, and perching on the stone 

 walls as familiarly as a Eedstart or a Wheatear. 



BRAMBLING. 



Fringilla montifringitta, L. 



Bramblings are tolerably regular winter visitors to the Solway 

 Plain and the Eden valley, but in the south and south-west of 

 Lakeland they appear to be decidedly uncommon. In frosty 

 weather their harsh chirrup often serves as the first intimation that 

 they have joined the yellow Buntings and other small birds that 

 are seeking food in the court-yard of the roadside farm. During 

 the daytime these finches forage in the fields and plantations, 

 returning shortly before dusk to their favourite roost. They 

 rarely prolong their stay after the middle of April. T. C. 

 Heysham thought otherwise, boldly stating in print that he 

 thought there could not be the least doubt that a few Bramb- 

 lings occasionally remained in England during the summer. 

 Probably his judgment on this point was warped by the reflec- 

 tion that ' the late ingenious Mr. Bewick states that he had seen 

 them on the Cumberland hills in the month of August.' Mr. 

 Holdsworth tells me that the Brambling lingers in the neigh- 

 bourhood of Oxenholme until the second week of April, and 

 that he has heard an individual bird chanting the summer song, 

 with which he is as familiar as any one, before its departure. 



LINNET. 



Linota ca7inabina.(L.). 



Among our local bird-fanciers the Linnet is generally known 

 as the ' Grey/ occasionally as the ' Whin-grey.' But in the west 

 of Cumberland the species is 'nowt'else but a Hemplin'; the 

 term being identical with that employed to designate the Hedge 

 Sparrow in the Bewcastle District. This species, of course, 

 nests plentifully in many parts of Lakeland, and considerable 

 numbers ' flight ' upon our coast in autumn. The largest assem- 

 blage of Linnets that I ever noticed were found clustering on 

 the telegraph-wires at Port Carlisle, on the 3d of September 



