British Birds in Their Haunts

by C. A. Johns

In Germany, this bird is so great a favourite that not a single tone of its voice has escaped the experienced ears of bird-fanciers. In some parts of Holland and the north of France, the passion for song Chaffinches amounts to a frenzy. Philharmonic societies are formed, whose exclusive object is to educate Chaffinches, and to organize vocal combats. The combatants, each in his cage, are placed a few yards from each other. One of them utters his strain, which is replied to by the other; strict silence is imposed on the spectators, lest the attention of the birds should be distracted by their remarks or applause. The contest proceeds as long as the birds continue to utter their notes of defiance, and the victory is adjudged to the one who has the last word. The price paid for a bird of mark, and the pains bestowed on the capture of any bird which in its wild state holds out promise of being an apt pupil, are past belief, and the cruelty practised in producing a perfect songster I cannot bring myself to describe. After all, Bechstein's translator says that the notes of the wild Chaffinches in England are finer than any cage ones he has heard in Germany. English bird-fanciers, without going so far as their German brethren, profess to distinguish three variations of song in the Chaffinch.

The nest of the Chaffinch is an exquisite piece of workmanship, composed of moss, dry grass, fine roots felted together with wool, decorated externally with scraps of white lichens, and lined with hair and feathers. It is placed sometimes in the fork of a tree, sometimes against the bole, but more frequently than anywhere else it is built in among the twigs of an apple-tree; but in every case it is attached to its support by wool interwoven with the other materials. The Chaffinch usually lays five eggs.

THE BRAMBLING
FRINGILLA MONTIFRINGÍLLA

Head, cheeks, nape, and upper part of the back, black, the feathers (in winter) tipped with light brown or ash-grey; neck and scapulars pale orange-brown; wings black, variegated with orange-brown and white; rump and lower parts white, the flanks reddish, with a few dark spots. Female—crown reddish brown, the feathers tipped with grey, a black streak over the eyes; cheeks and neck ash-grey; all the other colours less bright. Length six inches and a half. Eggs yellowish white, spotted and streaked with dark red.

In winter this bird occurs over the whole continent of Europe, and not unfrequently in enormous flocks. Pennant mentions an instance in which eighteen were killed at one shot—a statement which I can well believe, having seen in the winter of 1853 by far the largest flock of small birds I ever beheld, and which was composed entirely of Bramblings. They were employed in searching for food on the ground in a beech wood, and, as I approached, flew up into the branches in thousands. The Brambling, called also the Bramble Finch and Mountain Finch, is a fairly regular autumn and winter visitor to many parts of Scotland. Its presence in our country in any numbers depends on the severity of the weather on the Continent. Sometimes it is fairly numerous with us, especially where there are many beech woods. Few visit Ireland. It resembles the Chaffinch in habits, size, and general tone of colour; and as it often feeds in company with it, is probably sometimes confounded with it by an inexperienced eye. It arrives in this country in November, and takes its departure early in spring, never having been known to breed here. Its song is said to be something like that of the Chaffinch, and its nest, built in fir-trees, to be constructed with the same marvellous art.

THE LINNET
ACANTHIS CÁNNABINA

Winter—head ash-brown, the feathers dusky in the middle, those of the forehead more or less tinged with crimson; back chestnut-brown, becoming brighter towards the scapulars and duller towards the tail; tail-feathers black, edged towards the tip with reddish grey, the outer ones bordered with white; primaries black, the first five with very narrow, the next five with broad, white edges, the rest of the wing-feathers tinged with red, all tipped with ash-grey; under parts—breast-feathers dull crimson or brown, edged with yellowish red; abdomen dull white; flanks reddish yellow; beak brownish horn colour; feet and toes brown; tail moderate. In summer the beak is of a bluish lead colour; feathers of the forehead and crown greyish brown, tipped with crimson; upper plumage uniform rich chestnut-brown; breast crimson, with a few pale brown feathers intermixed. Length five inches. Eggs pale bluish grey, speckled with deep red.