226 
THE LANGUAGE OF BIRDS. 
small seeds, caterpillars, and insects. These birds 
are of great service to gardens in the summer, clear- 
ing the cabbages and trees of insects, which so often 
devour them. The males are very courageous, fre- 
quently maintaining obstinate combats, fighting till 
one or other is completely vanquished. 
Most of these birds possess fine musical powers, 
and will learn the song of many birds, or a tune from 
the flageolet or bird organ ; some, however, are very 
dull, and learn with difficulty. Chaffinches require 
more attention than other songsters in captivity, 
being apt, in the winter, to forget their acquired 
song ; it is, therefore, necessary in the spring to 
make them practise again, which frequently takes 
five or six weeks' exertion. I once had a family of 
these interesting little creatures domesticated in a 
summer house in my garden. A stupid country lad, 
employed as half gardener, half groom, took it into 
his head to prune a tree that grew against this my 
favourite resort in warm weather ; in doing which^ 
he discovered the nest of a chaffinch with four young 
ones, and, being a bit of a birdfancier, was in the 
act of consigning nest and birds into his hat, intend- 
ing to take them home, and bring them up by hand, 
