228 THE LANGUAGE OF BIRDS. 
watched these indefatigable little creatures, the nurrs 
ber of excursions the male made in search of food 
is surprising. Wishing to domesticate, without con- 
fining them, I left water, and such things as they 
were likely to require ; by degrees, both old and 
young became exceedingly tame, pecking out of my 
hand ; but towards autumn they all disappeared. 
However, the following spring they made their ap- 
pearance, repaired the nest, which I had left, thinking 
it possible they might return ; and there the hen 
laid and reared her young ; but they also left in the 
autumn. For three or four years the old birds re- 
turned nearly about the same time, when, at length, 
I lost them altogether. 
In Germany, that land of birds and birdfanciers, 
the chaffinch is highly prized. Bechstein observes— 
" The passion for this bird is carried to such an 
extent in Thuringia, and those that sing well are 
sought for with so much avidity, that scarcely a 
single chaffinch that warbles tolerably can be found 
throughout the province. As soon as one arrives 
from a neighbouring country, whose note appears 
good, all the bird-catchers are after it. This is the 
reason why the chaffinches in this province are such 
