its food from a box, the lid of which it is under the rte- 

 cefiity of fupporting during the time it is feeding. When 

 confined it readily breeds with the canary bird. 



During fevere weather the Goldfinch often reforts to gardens 

 and farm-yards, in queft of fcattered grain, but on the return 

 of mild weather, it quits the vicinity of our habitations for 

 its more ufual haunts ; its principal food is the feeds of 

 thiftles, teafels, and the leaves of groundfel ; the young ones 

 for the fir ft few weeks are fed with fmall caterpillars, to 

 procure a fufEcient fupply of which, the parent birds are 

 almoin continually on wing ; we have noticed them bufily 

 engaged about tufts of nettles, devouring the caterpillars of the 

 papilio io (the peacock butterfly). 



The plumage of thefe birds often varies in confinement, 

 being frequently met with quite black, or black and white ? 

 and fometimes (though lefs frequently) entirely white ; bfirds 

 fed conftantly with hemp-feed, are very fubjedt to become 

 black. 



