124 HANDBOOK OF BRITISH INLAND BIRDS 
great strength of the neck, and the stoutness of 
the bill which it supports, there is a finished grace- 
fulness both of form and markings about the 
whole head of the Bullfinch which makes it as 
bold and handsome as the Hawfinch's is massive 
and grotesque. The hen Bullfinch closely resembles 
her mate, but her colours are a little duller. The 
bird is well distributed over most parts of the 
country where there is a fair amount of brushwood 
and hedge-side cover, and is often seen in gardens, 
too often, in fact, for the zealous gardener's liking. 
There is no doubt that when Bullfinches are 
plentiful they do destroy, like the Great Tit, a 
quantity of fruit-tree buds in early spring, and it 
is to be feared that there is not sufficient evidence 
to prove that the bird only pulls those buds to 
pieces which contain a hidden caterpillar, and which 
would be consequently unproductive in any case. 
The Bullfinch may possibly be only hunting for 
insects when he destroys the buds, but from the 
gardener's point of view this is much like burning 
down the house to kill the rats and mice. Fruit-trees 
often must be protected against persistent attacks, 
but it should not be forgotten that later in the 
year the Bullfinches will capture great numbers of 
caterpillars for their young, and also destroy the 
seeds of many troublesome garden weeds, and that to 
keep them scared away from the trees is, if practicable, 
