THE CHAFFINCH 
draw attention to the nest, which otherwise might 
never have been noticed. 
The Chaffinch builds in gardens, hedges, 
orchards and copses, but very rarely in the depth of 
a thick wood. Her favourite tree seems to be a tall 
hawthorn, particularly one that grows amid a hedge. 
An apple, pear, or cherry tree is often chosen also. 
It is not an easy matter to find the nest, so 
cleverly is it placed in the fork of a bough, and so 
beautifully is it covered with lichens. Often it looks 
exactly like a part of the tree. Mrs. Chaffinch builds 
the nest while her mate brings the material. 
She generally uses a great deal of wool, which 
she mats together to form a kind of felt. Into this 
are woven mosses, lichens, thistle-down, spiders’ webs 
and cow-hair. 
The Chaffinch collects hairs in fields by picking 
them one by one from trees and posts where cows 
have rubbed. Sometimes he is very lucky and finds a 
large tuft. This is pulled to pieces and the industrious 
wife weaves the hairs one by one into the nest. 
Sometimes rather queer materials are used. 
One nest was found that had the outside plastered 
with scraps of newspaper, and in the building of 
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