44 
THE GOLDFINCH. 
— 
from four to six eggs, which upon a pale sea-green ground are 
marked with pale-red spots and dots, and deep-red stripes. The 
young are fed from the crop. These, before they first moult, 
are grey upon the head. They can he reared upon poppy 
seeds and roll steeped in milk or water. They have greater 
facility in imitating the song of the Canary than that of any 
other bird; and with this bird they will produce fertile hybrids. 
To effect this, a male goldfinch is placed with one or two hen 
Canaries, and they very readily pair, especially if the goldfinch 
has been reared from the nest. The birds which spring from 
this union are not only beautiful in color and plumage—often 
yellow, with the head, wings, and tail of the goldfinch—but 
they will be found to excel in the sweetness and variety of 
their song. If you are apprehensive that a pair of valuable 
Canaries will not thoroughly hatch their eggs, nor let their 
young ones die, remove them to the nest of a goldfinch; they 
will not only hatch them, but will also feed the young, which, 
when nearly full fledged, may be placed in a cage until they 
can feed themselves, when no further trouble attends their 
rearing. 
The characteristics which mark the principal varieties of 
this species are as follows:—- 
1. Goldfinch with a yellow breast. 
2. The White-headed Goldfinch. 
3. The Black-headed Goldfinch. 
4. The White Goldfinch . 
5. The Black Goldfinch. 
The latter are either entirely black, which is caused by 
age or in being fed upon hemp seed, or they retain the yellow 
spots on the wings. Mr. Shelbach, of Cassel, in Germany j 
reared a nest of goldfinches, which he kept entirely secluded 
from the light of the sun, covering the cage with cloth. 
These birds were of a jet-black, with yellow spots, but 
they changed color after moulting. Those goldfinches which 
become black before old age, usually resume their former 
color after moulting, but then they do not usually live much 
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