FRINGILLA 
CiELEBS. 
Chaffinch. 
FringUla ccelebs, Linn. Syst. Nat., tom. i. p. 318. 
Sylvia, Scop. Ann., i. p. 217. 
minis, Schrank, Faun. Boica, p. 176. 
coslehs. Cab. Mus. Hein., Theil i. p. 153. 
Passer spiza, Pall. Zoogr., tom. ii. p. 17. 
Struthus ccelehs, Boie, Isis, 1826, p. 974. 
This pretty bird Is so universally distributed over the British Islands that it must have been seen by every 
one, and there is no person 1 should suppose who is not acquainted with its call-notes of pitik, pink, or its 
more lengthened and monotonous song — a strain which, wanting variety, becomes tiring to the ear from its 
incessant repetition. It is distributed over the British Islands and the continent of Europe from east to west, 
and from north to south ; out of Europe, the countries of Asia Minor, Egypt, and Northern Africa are 
frequented by it in equal abundance. With us, gardens, shrubberies, lane-sides, the skirts of woods, holly 
trees on the open heath, the groves of aspen, oak, and birch, and the plantations of larch and fir clothing 
valleys and hill-sides are alike resorted to. From Cornwall to the Orkneys, from Galway in Ireland to 
Suffolk in England, the Chaffinch is a constant resident ; here, there, and everywhere does it enliven the 
scene with its showy colours and sprightly actions. On the continent of Europe it is just as numerous, during 
the months of summer, from the hot shores of the Mediterranean to the cool mountains of Norway and 
Lapland ; wherever vegetation flourishes and trees grow, there it may he found. This assertion, however, 
must he slightly modified as far as it relates to Norway; for during my visit to that country I did not observe 
it in the birch-region or among the stunted willows, its place in those situations being invariably occupied 
by the Bramble Finch {FringUla moiitifrmgilln). Neither did I meet with it on the higher parts of the 
Dovrefjeld, where, again, the Bramble Finch was abundant ; on the other hand, all the great pine-forests of 
that romantic country were tenanted hy it, its note resounding in every open glade. During my visit to 
the Maltese Islands, the Chaffinch was seen in the early part of April high in the air, as if coming from some 
distant land, and alighting in considerable numbers among the carouba, olive, and orange trees — these 
islands probably being a resting-place for the birds while en route from Africa to Europe. 
In the British Islands the Chaffinch changes its quarters according to the seasons ; it is a gregarious bird 
during the months of autumn and winter, when it resorts to upland districts and fields under cultivation, until 
driven hy stress of weather to seek shelter with other birds in the lower lands and the straw- and rick- 
yards of the farmer. The sexes are now frequently separate, each assorting by themselves ; and hence the 
name of ccelebs, or bachelor, has been assigned to tliis species. Tlie vernal season of spring, however, calls 
forth in the Chaffinch, as in other birds, a nuptial desire ; old associations again revive, and they once more 
return to their summer abode. WitE a resumption of their songs and other manifestations of love, the 
males begin to assume a finer dress, and, by the time May has put forth her garlands, they have obtained a 
rich leaden-blue hill, a black bar on the forehead, a blue crown, a chestnut-coloured hack, and a vinous 
breast : they are now in their best attire, and as “ gay as a Chaffinch.” 
What wonderful skill does this bird display in the construction of its nest ! Its architectural powers are, 
indeed, unsurpassed among birds ; and how often have they elicited the admiration of every one who has had 
an opportunity of inspecting an example of them ! With what elevated thoughts must we all regard the 
inimitable structure ! I write thus fervidly on the architectural skill displayed hy the Chaffinch, in the hope 
that it may awake in the minds of those who have not yet acquired it a taste for the works of the Great 
Creator of all things. Much has been written on the subjects of instinct and reason, where the one begins 
and the other ends ; hut as this is a matter which would be quite out of place in the present work, I shall 
content myself by saying that I believe that if a young bird of this or any other species be artificially incubated 
and kept apart from its parents, it would at the age of maturity act precisely like them in every particular, 
and that the lavishly-decorated nest of one, or the careless-built nest of another, would be constructed pre- 
cisely as in a state of nature. Instinct alone carries the bee back to its hive, directs the young Swallow to 
follow its parents to Africa, and the young Chaffinch to build its nest in strict resemblance to that which its 
predecessors had erected on the branches of the apple-tree or the vvhitethorn. The markings of the eggs, 
which the bird can have no power of modifying, all bear the same character in the minutest degree. 
It would be unfair to the Chaffinch to say that it is a destructive and troublesome bird ; for it is not so, 
except in situations foreign to its nature. The gardens have come to the bird, and the ploughed fields en- 
t 
