its food from a box, the lid of which it is under the ne- 
ceflity of fupporting during the time it is feeding. When 
confined it readily breeds with the canary bird. 
During fevere weather the Goldfinch often reforts to gardens 
and farm-yards, in queft of fcattered grain, but on the return 
of mild weather, it quits the vicinity of our habitations for 
its more ufual haunts ; its principal food is the feeds of 
thiftles, teafels, and the leaves of groundfel ; the young ones 
for the firil: few weeks are fed with fmall caterpillars, to 
procure a fufficient fupply of which, the parent bifds are 
almoil: continually on vnng ; we have noticed them bufily 
engaged about tufts of nettles, devouring the caterpillars of the 
papiiio io (the peacock butterfly). 
The plumage of thefe birds often varies in confinement, 
being frequently met with quite black, or black and white, 
and fometimes (though lefs frequently) entirely white ; birds 
fed conftantly with hemp-feed, are very fubjed to becomQ 
blacko 
