the former. It is generally seen in pairs or small flocks ; and the pairs do not seem to separate during 
the whole year, but cling to each other with the utmost aflection and tenderness. If one is accidentally 
separated from the other, they call assiduously until they are again united. 
“ The male is very lively in spring, and sings continually from the the tops of the trees, and delights 
especially in flying from one to the other, sometimes soaring, at others fluttering aloft and flying straight 
down again like the Tree-Pipit. In its usual flight it resembles the Siskin, moving quickly from place to 
place, and uttering its peculiar note, which has been compared to those of the Siskin, the Goldfinch, and 
the Canary. The song has much variation, and maybe heard at the breeding-place all day long from March 
tdl far into August. It is a favourite cage-bird, consorting by choice with the species above-mentioned ; and, 
like them, it may be taught many ])erformances. 
“The Serin feeds on seeds, especially those grown in gardens, and prefers the oleaginous to the fari- 
naceous. Naumann mentions particularly cabbage-, hemp-, and poppy-, rape-, turnip-, radish- and lettuce- 
seed. . . The wild seeds which it seems to prefer are dandelion, hawk-cabbage, chicory, the various 
grasses, and, when driven to it, even oats. In autumn it seeks its food among the alders and birches. 
“ Its nest is much more frequently found on fruit and walnut-trees than on beech, oak, or alder. It is 
placed in a forked bough not very high, or on the lowest branches of dwarf fruit-trees, but not in low 
bushes. It sometimes resembles the nest of the Goldfinch ; at others it is more like that of the Greenfinch, 
but is smaller, very narrow, rounded and lined with more skill than the latter. It is formed of small 
roots woven together with old twigs, which, however, are sometimes absent. The inside is tolerably deep, 
and made soft and warm with feathers and generally a large quantity of horse-hair, and single pig’s-bristles, 
udiich secure a smooth resting-place for the eggs, the whole forming one of the prettiest of nests. 
“ The eggs are about the size of the Siskin’s, but shorter and rounder, very tender-shelled, and in colour 
resembling the Linnet’s, having a ground-colour of greenish white decorated with solitary dots and short 
streaks of dark blood-red or reddish brown, oftentimes forming a kind of wreath round the larger end. The 
duty of incubation is performed entirely by the female, who sits for fourteen days, during which the male 
often feeds her most tenderly from his crop.” 
In Badeker’s work upon the Eggs of European birds, Brehm, speaking of the bird in South Germany, 
says : — “ The half-bowl-formed nest is made of grass and stalks of plants, and lined with feathers and hair; 
in many the catkins of the willow form the under layer, whilst others are made almost entirely of 
rootlets, and some are built almost exclusively of the clustering blossoms of the chestnut.” 
The accounts of the bird as seen in Italy by Savi and Prince Charles L. Bonaparte, and in Savoy by 
Bailly, are all very similar to the above. The latter states in addition that “ it is easily snared, soon 
becomes tame, and that its charming manners and sweet song render it a general favourite. The male 
readily pairs with the Canary ; and the young which are the result are generally very fine songsters.” The 
Rev. H. B. Tristram says : — “ This exquisite little songster, the rival of the Canary in power, is much 
sought after in North Africa, as it is the favourite cage-bird of the Moorish ladies in Algiers.” 
A few notes from ‘ The Ibis ’ will complete the recorded history of the Serin Finch. 
“ The Serimes hortulanus,” says Mr. F. Du Cane Godman, “ is found in abundance throughout the Azores. 
It frequents the cultivated lands, where it feeds on the seed crops, and is especially destructive to the flax. 
It is often caught and tamed, and a great number are sold on board vessels which touch at the islands for 
provisions. In Fayal these birds congregate in great numbers about a small hill near Horta, and fly across 
in a body to the island of Pico ; for what reason I do not know, as there Is no want of trees in the 
neighbourhood. 
In Palestine, the Rev. Mr. Tristram notes that “ the pretty little Serin was only found in the winter 
season in the small glens and wooded districts near the sea, and never inland. Near Beyrout it is very 
common, but leaves for the north in March.” 
The opposite Plate represents a male and a female, of the natural size, on a branch of the larch. The 
female is distinguished by being not so yellow, darker, on the upper surface, and more spotted below. 
