. Boys and birds; or, Miss Truat's mission . Fig. 53.—Finches Building Nest. The Chaffinch, a beautiful picture of which Ihave to show you, is a common bird over most ofEurope, and is called by the Germans the * NobleBird. (Fig. 54) The male bird is deep black on the forehead, therest of the head and neck being ashy-gray, brown onthe back, passing into a rich red on the lower partsof the body, and this fading into white on the abdo- BOYS AND BIRDS. 2G3. Fig. 54.—Chaffinch. men. The wings are marked by two conspicuouswhite bare. The finches are all more less musical and attract-ive birds, and a
. Boys and birds; or, Miss Truat's mission . Fig. 53.—Finches Building Nest. The Chaffinch, a beautiful picture of which Ihave to show you, is a common bird over most ofEurope, and is called by the Germans the * NobleBird. (Fig. 54) The male bird is deep black on the forehead, therest of the head and neck being ashy-gray, brown onthe back, passing into a rich red on the lower partsof the body, and this fading into white on the abdo- BOYS AND BIRDS. 2G3. Fig. 54.—Chaffinch. men. The wings are marked by two conspicuouswhite bare. The finches are all more less musical and attract-ive birds, and are useful in reducing the swarms of 264 BOYS AND BIEDS. noxious insects. M Fig. 55.—Finches at Play It must not be denied, however,that they are justly charge-able with the offence of de-stroying the young buds andflowers of our orchards, oftento a most ruinous degree. Weshould hardly want to sparethem altogether from ourwoods, hence we will cherishthe hope, even though itamounts to self-deception, thatthey do more good than us still give them a warmwelcome, take pleasure in theirplay (Fig. 55), and endurewithout grumbling the smallills which they may inflictupon us. 4You all remember, duringour rambles the other Satur-day, with what admiration wegazed upon the beautiful redbird with black wings andtail. It was the Scarlet Teen-ager, one of the most gaudysummer visitors. Specimensof this bird are plentiful in • BOYS AND BIRDS. 265
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1870, booksubjectbirds, bookyear1874
