That the lowest boughs of the brushwood sheaf
Round the elm-tree hole are in tiny leaf,
While the Chaffinch sings on the orchard bough
In England now!
The nest, which is an exceptionally beautiful structure, takes about a fortnight to build. Closely woven, it appears to consist mainly of wool, into which moss and lichens of various colours are deftly woven. The outside is cunningly decorated with bits of lichen and the inner bark of trees, such as the birch, the whole being secured by a thin veil of spiders' webs. The lichen and bark serve to render the nest inconspicuous by blending it with the general appearance of the bush or small tree in a forked bough of which it is placed. Inside the wool is more closely felted even than on the outside, and this is covered with fine hairs, amongst which a few feathers are intermixed. The work of building seems to be done by the female only, though the male helps by bringing the materials.
Photo by J. T. Newman] [Berkhamsted.
BULLFINCH.
Black varieties are occasionally taken in a wild state. Caged specimens fed on hemp-seed frequently turn black.
Of the Goldfinch, Linnets, and Bullfinch, by far the most popular and beautiful is the Goldfinch, which is, and probably will long remain, one of the most prized of cage-birds. Gifted "with the fatal gift of beauty," this bird is much persecuted by bird-catchers; and indeed, partly owing to the depredations of these men, and partly to improved methods of agriculture, which have diminished its feeding-area, this handsome bird is growing more and more rare every year.