. The popular natural history . Zoology. THE CHAFFINCH. 341 and retiring habits, which lead it to eschew the vicinity of man and to bury itself in the recesses of forests. So extremely wary is the Hawfinch, that to approach within gunshot is a very difficult matter, and can seldom be accom- plished without the assistance of a decoy-bird, or by imitating the call-note, which bears some resemblance to that of a robin. It feeds chiefly on the various wild berries, not rejecting even the hard stones of plums and the laurel berries. In the spring, it is apt to make inroads in the early dawn upon th
. The popular natural history . Zoology. THE CHAFFINCH. 341 and retiring habits, which lead it to eschew the vicinity of man and to bury itself in the recesses of forests. So extremely wary is the Hawfinch, that to approach within gunshot is a very difficult matter, and can seldom be accom- plished without the assistance of a decoy-bird, or by imitating the call-note, which bears some resemblance to that of a robin. It feeds chiefly on the various wild berries, not rejecting even the hard stones of plums and the laurel berries. In the spring, it is apt to make inroads in the early dawn upon the cultivated grounds, and has an especial liking for peas, among which it often works dire havoc. The nest of the Hawfinch is not remarkable either for elegance or pecu- liarity of form. It is very simply built of slender twigs, bits of dried creepers, grey lichens, roots, and hairs, and is so carelessly put together that it can hardly be moved entire. The eggs are from four to six in number, and their colour is very pale olive-green, streaked with grey and spotted with black dots. The birds pair in the middle of April, begin to build their nests about the end of that month, and the young are hatched about the third week in May. The true Finches are known by their rather short and conical beak, their long and pointed wings, and the absence of nostrils in the beak. Eng- land possesses many examples of these birds. The Chaffinch is one of our com- monest field birds, being spread over the whole of England in very great numbers. The specific title of Ccelebs which is given to the Chaffinch, signifies " a bachelor," and refers to the annual separation of the sexes, which takes place in the autumn, the females departing to some other region, and the males congregating in vast multitudes, consoling themselves as they best can by the pleasures of society for the absence of the gentler portion of the community. 1~he note of this bird is a merry kind of whistle, and the call-n
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, booksubjectzoology, bookyear1884
