io8 
The Dullfijich. 
This species can be established in any garden providing 
cover and nesting sites, such as thick bushes or hedge or two. 
From a recent letter of Mr. Teschemaker's I quote the following 
interesting extract : — " I find they can be easily established in 
any garden with a good thick hedge or two, by turning out one 
of a pair, keeping the remaining one in a cage hanging in the 
garden for a week. The one first liberated hangs about the place, 
so as to be near its mate, until it gets to know the locality, and 
should be supplied with hemp seed daily. Then liberate the 
other and both will stay and breed. I tried it one year (in the 
early spring) and they nested successfully. Next year I had so 
many Bullfinches in the garden that I had to shoot some, and 
then they all cleared off." 
Will some of our members with large gardens, especially 
near London, make a similar attempt? they would probably 
spread and make a welcome addition to such of our Commons and 
Parks as provided suitable cover for them. 
II. As a room bird or cage pet my experience has been 
but limited, and it is so far back that I scarcely care to quote my 
experience to any extent ; but as a boy it was one of my favourite 
birds ; I expect the rich red plumage of the under surface was 
the principal attraction. 
As a room bird, apart from its pleasing plumage, it 
possesses the attractive qualities of being intelligent, confiding, 
readily learning numerous tricks, such as feigning death, firing toy 
guns, etc., also it may be taught to pipe various tunes ; such are 
called Piping Bullfinches, and are costly, but interesting pets, and 
quite an industry is made of training them in Germany — very few 
English birds are trained, so few that they need not be considered 
here. 
III. As an exhil)ition bird they are very popular, as the 
well-filled classes at our principal shows abundantly teslifj'. It 
is quite instructive to walk round a class of Bullfinches and study 
them at close quarters. What an amount of variation there is in 
size, form and depth of hue ; these points can only be studied under 
sucli conditions, when picked birds, coming from various localities 
(possibly covering the whole British Isles) can be compared side 
by side. Field study does not permit of this, though there we 
