LINNET. 



297 



that of the other sex rather less. The plumage of the female is more 

 dusky brown ; the coverts of the wings rufous-brown ; sides of the 

 throat plain dirty white, the middle part streaked ; breast and sides 

 pale brown, with dusky streaks ; quills and tail like the other sex, but 

 the former not so deeply margined with white, and of course no per- 

 ceptible bar on the wing. 



These birds fly in flocks during winter, at which time the males 

 have little or none of the red markings which, in the return of spring, 

 they put forth. 



* Selby informs us, that he repeatedly verified the fact of its never ac- 

 quiring under confinement, those brilliant tints which distinguish it at a 

 particular period of the year when in a state of liberty. " I will adduce," 

 says he, " an instance strikingly to the point. For some particular 

 purpose of observation, a Linnet was shot towards the close of summer, 

 when the plumage shewed its most perfect nuptial tint, and happening 

 to be only winged, it was put into a cage. It soon became familiarised 

 to its situation, and still continues so. About the usual time in the 

 autumn of that year, it moulted, and acquired the winter dress of the 

 common Linnet, which it has retained ever since, without displaying at 

 the accustomed season, any of the brilliant red that adorned it in the 

 wild state." In this he is supported by the authority of Bechstein, who 

 says that young birds bred in the cage never acquire this crimson- 

 colour on the head and breast, and that old birds at the first moulting 

 after their captivity, lose their beautiful colours, which never return. 

 This Linnet is very common throughout Britain, extending as far as 

 the Orkneys, where it is abundant. During the summer it resorts to 

 waste land and commons, in the upper parts of the country, where it 

 breeds. Furzy commons seem to be the favorite resorts of these birds 

 during that season ; the bushy furze being admirably adapted to conceal 

 the nest from the prying eye, and sometimes a quickset or gooseberry- 

 bush answers the purpose. The nest is composed of moss woven with 

 wool, and lined with wool and hair, very neatly put together ; the eggs 

 are four in number, of a bluish white, with a few purplish specks and 

 short lines ; their weight from twenty-four to thirty grains. In the 

 month of April they pair, and commence building their nest, and in 

 May the first broods are hatched ; but if the nest should be destroyed, 

 they will build another as late as the month of August, appearing dis- 

 satisfied until the object of their visit is accomplished. During the time 

 of nidification, and until the young are hatched, the song of the Lin- 

 net, although short, possesses much sweetness. "At once brilliant and 

 soft," says Bechstein, the song of " the Linnet consists of many irregular 



