THE BULLFINCH. 



Pyrrhula europcea, Vieillot. 

 Plate 17. 



The Bullfinch is resident and more or less common in those parts of the 

 country suited to its habits, throughout the British Islands. In the northern and 

 eastern portions of Europe, and in Siberia, a larger and more brilliantly coloured 

 race is found, known as the Northern Bullfinch, the Pyrrhula major of Brehm, 

 which has been recorded several times in Great Britain ; although doubts have 

 been expressed as to the genuineness of some of these occurrences, owing to the 

 number of birds imported by dealers. 



On the continent of Europe our smaller bird may also be found in the central, 

 southern, and western portions. 



The nest of the Bullfinch is of peculiar construction, being composed of slender 

 twigs and fine roots, intertwined so as to form a kind of platform, in the centre of 

 which is a cup-shaped depression, and occasionally a little wool or hair is placed 

 within this interior. 



It is generally built in an evergreen bush or tree, not far from the ground, and 

 contains from four to six eggs, in ground colour greenish-blue, with spots and 

 streaks of violet-grey and dark purplish-brown. 



The food consists of the young buds of the larch and other trees, varied with 

 the seeds of wild plants, such as the dandelion, chickweed, groundsel, &c. 



The song of the Bullfinch is low and very soft in tone, and so is its piping 

 call-note. 



The bird is shy and retiring in its habits, haunting thick copses and well- 

 timbered ground, shrubberies, and gardens ; the pairs usually keeping company 

 throughout the year. 



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