. Our native songsters . g thistle down, * Suddenly halting now—a lifeless stand !Then starting off again with freak as all its sportive wanderings, all the while,Making report of an invisible breezeThat was its wings, its chariot, and its horse,Its playmate^—rather say, its moving soul. It is pleasing to watch the birds joy as it sitspecking at the thistle tuft. Happily, though thewind is bearing away so many of the seeds, andcasting all which arc destined to prove fertile ontheir fitting soils, yet many are left in tufts, toshow where the rich purple flower has been; andquite late
. Our native songsters . g thistle down, * Suddenly halting now—a lifeless stand !Then starting off again with freak as all its sportive wanderings, all the while,Making report of an invisible breezeThat was its wings, its chariot, and its horse,Its playmate^—rather say, its moving soul. It is pleasing to watch the birds joy as it sitspecking at the thistle tuft. Happily, though thewind is bearing away so many of the seeds, andcasting all which arc destined to prove fertile ontheir fitting soils, yet many are left in tufts, toshow where the rich purple flower has been; andquite late in the autumn, the goldfinch may beseen flitting about the hedges, twitting and peck-ing at the thistle do^vn. The French call thebird Chardonneret, from Chardon a thistle. Thescientific appellation, Cardiielis, is also fonnedfrom Carduus, the botanic name of a genus ofthe plant; and the bird is besides in some countiy-places called Thistle-finch, and is the Distelfinh ofthe Germans. Our country people also term this. THE SISKIN. 275 favourite bird Goldwing, and the Scotch call itthe Goldspink or Goldie. During winter the goldfinches often congi-egatein flocks, and repair to some spot well suppliedwith thistles, plantains, groundsel, and other plantswhich furnish them with food, when they sud-denly alight, and are immediately busy in theirsearches; but as soon as spring comes round, theyare to be found in the woods and gardens, build-ing their nests, and singing their happy welcometo warm showers and sunshine. The goldfinch is very abundant, and is prettygenerally diffused throughout Europe. It is com-mon in the Greek Isles, and though not a migra-tory bird, yet it removes during winter either totlie continent or to the largest islands. The Greekscall it Karedreno. The Siskin,* or Aberdevine {Carduelis spinus)^is scarcely inferior to the goldfinch in its power oflearning the various little performances for which * The Siskin is about four inches and a half in length. Upperp
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1850, booksubjectbirds, bookyear1853
