The Goldfinch. 



85 



EsARiNa THE Young. — The young of the Goldfinch are 

 rather difficult to rear by hand, and ought not to be taken 

 from the nest too early. They should not be removed until 

 they are pretty well feathered, and they will then readily 

 take the food offered to them. Feed them 09 white 

 bread, which has been first soaked in water and strained, 

 and then boiled with fresh or new milk, until it becomes 

 sop ; add to it a little maw seed or ground linseed, and 

 mix well together. The birds should be fed every two 

 hours, or oftener. The food should be prepared fresh daily. 

 They require to be fed early and late. As soon as they 

 can peck for themselves, a lettuce leaf, a little groundsel 

 or chickweed, should be placed between the wires of the 

 cage, which will induce them to feed more readily, and 

 will do them good ; but it must be given sparingly. At 

 the age of six weeks they will be able to break seed, 

 and the soft food should be gradually discontinued. Give 

 them a mixture of canary, rape, maw, and inga seed (the 

 maw and inga sparingly), and occasionally a little linseed 

 and hemp seed, but the latter seldom, and in small quantities. 

 They will thrive and do well with this treatment. 



The Distinguishing Marks of Cook and Hen. — There 

 are few varieties in which the male bird is so difficult to dis- 

 tinguish from the female as in Goldfinches, and this is more 

 particularly the case with young cocks and old hens. The 

 cock, as in most other breeds, is usually a trifle larger than 

 the hen. In a cock, the feathers on the ridge of the wings 

 or shoulders (the pinion coverts) are black, whereas, in a hen, 

 though they appear black, they are more of a slaty-brown 

 or dusky-ash colour when compared with those of the male 

 bird. The brown colour on the back and sides of the breast 

 of a cock is clearer and brighter, as are the feathers on the 

 other parts of the body. The narrow margin of feathers which 

 surrounds the base of the beak in a cock is black, but in a 

 hen it is brown. 



In a cock bird — and more particularly is this the case in a 

 fully-matured bird — the red on the face extends beyond the 

 eye, and on each side of the breast will be found (when blown 

 back) a tinge of pale yellow. These two points are a sure 

 indication of the sex, as they are never observed in a hen. 

 The male bird is likewise more active and energetic in his 



