262 
FEIN GILLIDiE . 
favourably circumstanced, this bird is not to be found, or only 
as an occasional visitant. Of all our indigenous species, the 
beautiful goldfinch seems the most capricious. In one instance, 
it is known to me, as entirely deserting a part of the country which 
had been regularly frequented, after a small portion of a mountain- 
side covered with thistles from time immemorial, was reclaimed, 
and planted with forest trees. From other localities, I have known 
the goldfinch, without any apparent reason, flit away, and, unlike 
many other birds, never revisit the place of its nativity. As the 
country around Belfast has become more populous, their numbers 
have decreased. The romantic neighbourhood of Cushendall, 
about forty miles distant, is now their stronghold in this quarter, 
the goldfinch being there a very common bird. It is pleasing 
to witness the social manner in which they feed, several being 
often engaged regaling upon the seed of a single thistle ; on a 
moderate-sized plant of the more humble knapweed {Centaur ea 
nigra) I have seen four of them thus occupied at the same time : 
— the seed of the ragwort (or ragweed, as it is called in the north 
of Ireland,) is also favourite food. They are very easily alarmed 
when feeding, and fly off hurriedly in little companies, uttering 
their pleasing and lively call. In addition to seeds of various 
kinds found in the stomachs of specimens killed in the months of 
January and February, I have, though very rarely, observed the 
remains of coleopterous insects : fragments of stone or brick were 
always present. 
Although this species frequents gardens and well-kept grounds, 
especially for the purpose of nesting, it seems to prefer such 
parts of the country as are in some degree wild. Its visits to 
the farm are certainly not to be considered as complimentary 
to the owner, for when most out of order and run to weeds, it 
presents the greatest attraction to the goldfinch. During snow, 
these birds have been taken in trap-cages baited with flax-seed ; 
sometimes in company with chaffinches. For two years succes- 
sively, goldfinches built in a cherry-tree within ten paces of a 
house in which I lived, when they and their young (in each 
instance four in number) proved highly interesting. I have seen 
