102 HANDBOOK OF BRITISH INLAND BIRDS 
which mainly feed upon hard grains and seeds, 
and are provided for this purpose with a charac- 
teristically strong, thick, short beak which is their 
most conspicuous family feature. Such a strong 
beak would be of little service without the power 
to apply it, and Nature has given all these birds 
a thick and stout head and neck, features which 
distinguish them plainly from all such habitual 
insect-eaters as the Warblers, Whitethroats, or 
Hedge-sparrow. And since there are compara- 
tively few insects to be found in our climate 
during winter, while seeds and grains are not so 
gcarce, it further follows naturally that the Finches 
remain with us all the year, or visit us for the 
winter season only, when the majority of the soft- 
billed birds are recalled by Nature to the South. 
In all these respects the Greenfinch is a thoroughly 
representative member of his family. He is a 
strong and hardy bird, well able to take good care 
of himself, and is as familiar in his winter flocks 
about the stubble-fields and corn-stacks, in com- 
pany with Yellow Hammers and Sparrows, as he 
is in almost every garden, hedgerow and thicket 
as a breeding species in May and June. The 
cock and hen differ very considerably in colour, 
the cock being a distinctly brightly coloured bird, 
especially in the breeding season, with his strong 
greenish tinges both on breast and back, and the 
