Perching Birds. 
1 1 
■ *■ s 
The Chaffinch. 
is the largest of the British Finches, and is a very 
powerful bird. For some years past its range in 
Great Britain has been evidently increasing, and 
it now breeds in some of our midland counties 
where it was formerly quite unknown. Notwith- 
standing its large size, the Hawfinch is never 
very easy to observe, and often a glimpse of 
the white on the wings and tail is all that is seen 
of the bird as it disappears with a wonderfully 
rapid flight. This species does considerable 
damage to peas, of which the young birds will 
devour a large quantity, and stone fruit is also a 
favourite food of the Hawfinch, which strips off 
the fruit in order to get at the stone and devour 
the kernel. The nest is made of twigs and lined 
with roots and hair, and there is an external 
net-work of small twigs imparting rather a pretty 
appearance to some of the nests. 
THE With the exception, perhaps, of the Greenfinch, the Chaffinch is 
CHAFFINCH. our commonest Finch, and it not only nests everywhere throughout 
(Fringilla the British Islands, but is also plentiful in winter, when a consider- 
ccelebs.) able immigration to our shores takes place. The Chaffinch is a very 
pretty bird, and if it were a denizen of some tropical country, its beauty would be 
thought still more of than is the case in Europe. As with the generality of Finches, 
the female is different from the male, and not nearly so bright in colour. 
The nest of the Chaffinch is a beautiful little structure, being cup-shaped, and 
made of moss, with a few twigs, lined with horsehair, feathers and down. It is 
placed in the fork of a branch of a tree, and the outside of the nest is covered with 
lichens and cobwebs, which cause the nest to resemble the bark of the tree to which 
it is attached, so that it is often difficult to discover. The eggs are from four 1o six in 
number, and vary considerably, being 
sometimes pale blue without any 
spots. Typical eggs, however, have 
more or less of a pinkish shade, and 
show a few blotches or scribblings 
of black or reddish brown. 
The Brambling (Fringilla 
montifringilla). Although similar in 
form to the Chaffinch, building a nest 
and laying eggs like those of the last- 
The Brambling or Mountain Finch. named bird, the Brambling is very 
