108 HANDBOOK OF BRITISH INLAND BIRDS 
merriness and grace about its flight and movements 
which further add to its general attractiveness. It 
is always interesting to watch a party of Goldfinches 
clinging to the downy thistle-heads in some ragged 
field, in quest of the seed which is their special and 
favourite food ; and when they pay the same 
attention to the blue corn-flowers on the sandy 
cliffs or in the garden border, the spectacle of eager 
movement and contrasted colours is a very beautiful 
one. The single call-note which is often heard on 
these and similar occasions has a peculiar clearness 
and sprightliness of tone, and these qualities are 
even more conspicuous in the song. Though 
resident as a species, the Goldfinch is one of the 
many birds which to a great extent shift their 
ground for the winter, and in all probability most 
of the large parties or flocks which are still to be 
seen (though in far less than their former numbers) 
in early autumn are on their way southward 
across the Channel. At the beginning or about 
the middle of May the Goldfinch builds a very 
soft and beautifully shaped nest in various situa- 
tions in trees and shrubs, generally at a height 
of from six to twenty feet from the ground. A 
small fork among the outer boughs or twigs of a 
large tree is one favourite place ; another, even 
more characteristic, is resting upon a thick branch 
of a large horse-chestnut ; while the bird also 
