Part 9

Though nearly allied to the Goldfinch, this bird is very different in appearance, being much smaller and of a yellowish green with black markings. Scotland is its chief home, where it lives among the fir-trees, making excursions daily into the open country to seek its food. In winter it wanders through our islands, but is never very abundant and always irregular in its visits. It has occasionally nested in fir plantations in the South of England, but it is only in the north-east corner of Scotland that it may be considered a common breeding species. The nest is placed near the top of a fir-tree or at the end of a lateral branch at some distance from the ground. The materials are similar to those used by the Goldfinch, and the eggs also bear a close resemblance to those of that species, but are slightly smaller. It has a pretty little song, rather more melodious and varied than that of the Goldfinch, and when courting will frequently rise in the air and slowly descend with fluttering wings and outspread tail. Aphides, when in season, form a large portion of their diet, and from this point of view they prove themselves of great service to man; for the rest, any seed or berry is eaten, but from their habit of seeking their food in the open the seeds of weeds and grasses are chiefly consumed.

The general colour above is greenish yellow streaked with black, except for the rump, which is brighter and unstreaked. The head is darker and there is a yellow superciliary stripe. The quills and wing coverts are black with yellowish margins. Tail feathers yellow with broad black tips. Chin black, upper breast bright greenish yellow; rest of under parts yellowish streaked with black, especially on the flanks. The female is much duller, the prevailing tint being greyish green streaked with dull brown. The black chin of the male is a variable feature. Length 4·6 in.; wing 2·8 in.

THE CITRIL FINCH Chrysomitris citrinella (Linnæus)

The Citril Finch inhabits the mountainous regions of Central and Southern Europe, migrating southwards in winter. A specimen was taken alive in January 1904 near Yarmouth.

The nape and sides of the neck are greyish; back dull green with dusky streaks; wings and tail black; the whole of the rest of the plumage yellowish green. The female is rather duller. Length 4·8 in.; wing 3 in.

THE SERIN Serinus hortulanus, K. L. Koch

Breeding throughout the greater part of Central and Eastern Europe, there is no great improbability that some, at all events, of the few examples of this species that have been obtained in England are genuine stragglers and not birds that have escaped from captivity. They have mostly occurred on our southern or eastern coasts, with the single exception of one taken near Dublin.

The forehead, rump, throat, and breast are yellow; upper parts and flanks olive streaked with brown; belly white. The female and young only differ from the male in being duller, and in winter both sexes exhibit far less yellow. Length 4·5 in.; wing 2·7 in.

THE HOUSE-SPARROW Passer domesticus (Linnæus)

Noisy, quarrelsome, and vicious, will perhaps sum up the character of this species. Cunning, crafty, hardy, and omnivorous, he is always literally in clover, and under such circumstances is it to be wondered at that his numbers have increased so as to be beyond all limits? Wherever man settles, there, sooner or later, will he make his appearance, sitting on the roof or in the shrubbery, and uttering, especially in the mornings, his monotonous and impertinent chirp. In spring he pulls up the crocuses, later he turns his attention to young and succulent plants just forcing their way above the ground, or if a new-sown lawn be the object of one's solicitude he will make it his business to see that the hoped-for grass-plot remains a barren tableland. As summer comes on, the drain-pipes are blocked by his untidy nest--a mere heap of straw and hay warmly lined with feathers. If a tree or the ivy against the house be chosen for a site, the nest is better made, and is in fact a substantial dome-built structure with the entrance at the side, but its position is readily betrayed by long untidy bits of straw left trailing outside. The eggs are five or six in number and bluish white spotted and blotched with ash brown. By the end of summer he will have reared two broods of five or six youngsters each, and for a time our gardens are allowed a brief respite, while old and young gather in immense flocks in the harvest-fields, and then following the grain they spend some weeks round the freshly-made stacks in the farm-yard. As winter comes on they return once more to towns and gardens, where, by assuming a cold and starved appearance, they beg and frequently receive our charity, till the blooming of the spring flowers once more enables them to start their round of theft and damage. So much for their relations towards man, and it is to be feared that their relations towards other birds have also no redeeming point, for they are so quarrelsome that none of the more delicate and beautiful of our birds will live near them, and the House-Martin clinging to his home with pathetic persistence is driven away again and again by this impudent marauder.

Is there, however, not one good word to be said for him? He is at least by no means bad-looking--the chestnut of his back, his slate-blue head, black and white cheeks, and black throat all tend to add a touch of life and beauty to our gardens which they would otherwise lack; and then in summer he destroys countless noxious insects while feeding his brood, and in towns how companionable he is, hopping about our window-sills or on the roadway, evading the passing traffic with a knowledge born of long practice--surely these at least are compensations that entitle him to some regard.

These arguments, however, all fail. Remove the Sparrow and his place will soon be taken by other birds more beautiful, who will destroy insects, not merely when they have their broods, but throughout the year, and they will soon populate our towns and gardens to as great an extent as the present pest. Remove him? Yes! but how? There's the rub. Man in the face of the Sparrow is, at present, powerless. True, the bitter war he deserves is not waged on him in this country, but abroad, in Australia and America, relentless persecution is carried on, and though his numbers may be kept in check he is still able to yearly inflict a loss and damage that can only be measured in millions of pounds.

At the same time man is largely to blame for this increase. By careful farming, woods and thickets which should shelter many other species of birds are cut down or reduced, and thereby a similar reduction of their inhabitants is created; grain, the Sparrow's favourite food, is cultivated in enormous quantities, and birds of prey who might tend to keep the Sparrow within reasonable limits are ruthlessly destroyed. Under these circumstances, then, is it to be wondered at that the Sparrow, having a large number of his competitors for food reduced, his enemies swept away, and unlimited food supplied, should increase beyond all reasonable bounds, especially if added to this we remember that he is exceedingly crafty and cunning, soon recognising and avoiding traps and becoming very difficult to approach in places where he is frequently shot at. He is at the same time adaptable and able to attach himself to the dwellings of man, who supplies him (albeit involuntarily) with a plethora of food; under such conditions his increase is only the result of one of Nature's first laws, the "survival of the fittest."

This species is too well known to need a description. The female lacks the black on the throat and the grey and chestnut on the crown, and her colours generally are much duller. The young approach the female in general coloration, but young males often show traces of black on the throat. Length 6 in.; wing 3 in.

TREE-SPARROW Passer montanus (Linnæus)

Although so closely allied to the preceding pest, the Tree-Sparrow is a bird of very different temperament and habits, and worthy to be numbered among our bird friends. Many spend the winter with us, but it is partially migratory, and their numbers are increased each spring by arrivals from abroad. It is a rather local and scarce bird, but even in places where they are common they are so shy that they are hardly ever seen, and are considered in consequence much rarer than really is the case. It shuns the habitations of man, whether because of the overpowering insolence of its larger relative or not is a debatable point, but the fact remains that if we want to see it we must find some secluded and undisturbed spot. Holes in pollard willows or in some hedgerow tree are generally chosen for a nesting-site, inside which a substantial nest of grass abundantly lined with feathers is formed. Five eggs form the clutch. These are greyish in ground colour, delicately but thickly mottled with brown, and it is an almost invariable rule that one egg of a clutch should be conspicuously lighter than the others. Little is known of the habits of this bird; its food consists chiefly of seeds and berries, but in summer insects form a large part of its diet and the young are almost entirely reared on them. Its notes and song very closely resemble those of its commoner relative but are slightly more musical and less harsh.

The adult has the crown and nape dark chestnut, rest of upper parts chestnut with darker centres to the feathers; upper and lower wing coverts tipped with white and forming two distinct bands. Cheeks white with a triangular black patch in the centre. Chin and throat black; rest of under parts greyish white passing to brown on the flanks. Length 5·6 in.; wing 2·75 in. The sexes are alike in plumage. The young are similar to their parents but duller.

It is a scarce and local species but widely distributed, and doubtless from its retiring habits and resemblance to the House-Sparrow it is often overlooked.

THE CHAFFINCH Fringilla coelebs, Linnæus

"Pink, pink!" Who among us does not know the Chaffinch with his bright "pink, pink," and perky walk, as he goes down the garden path in front of us, or flies into the nearest shelter showing off the white bars on his wings as he does so. No matter how severe the winter or how hot the summer, he is always with us, a constant visitor to our gardens, and when we go into the woods and fields we shall still find him equally at home. Early in February he begins his song, which consists merely of a short run down the scale ending up in the syllables "de-wi." Pairing takes place early in the season, but some weeks elapse before he thinks of nesting, well knowing that the insects so necessary for his young are not yet born. At the end of April his mate will begin to build the nest, while her lord and master sits quietly by, encouraging her with his song but not deigning to soil his beak or feet with honest toil. The site chosen is very variable; the fork of some giant tree or against the trunk of a hedgerow elm supported by a lateral shoot are the places most frequently used, but it is often situated in a hedge, and sometimes in the ivy against a wall. The nest itself is a beautiful mass of moss, grass, and wool carefully felted together with cobwebs and thickly lined with hair, lichens being often added on the outside to make it assimilate better with the surroundings. The eggs, generally four in number, are greenish blue, spotted and clouded with deep reddish brown, but occasionally the markings are entirely absent.

During incubation the male waits on his hen with great care, bringing her all the titbits and delicacies in the way of insects which he can find, and both sexes are assiduous in their attentions to their young.

After the duties of housekeeping are over, the rest of the year is spent in the woods, hedgerows, and gardens, feeding promiscuously on insects, seeds, and berries. Towards the middle of October large flocks, in which sometimes one sex largely predominates, reach our shores from more northerly breeding haunts; most of these, moving southwards, feed largely on beech-mast in company with Bramblings and then pass on, but many remain to keep us company during the winter, till early in spring they return again to their breeding quarters.

The male has the crown and nape bluish grey; back reddish brown; rump greenish; upper wing coverts white; greater wing coverts black tipped with white and forming two conspicuous bars. Wing and tail feathers black, the former edged with yellowish white, and the two outermost pairs of the latter spotted with white; cheeks and under parts reddish brown. Bill horn coloured in winter, deep lead grey in summer. Legs dark brown. The female is of various shades of yellowish brown, but the white wing bars are conspicuous. The young at first resemble the female. Length 6 in.; wing 3·4 in.

THE BRAMBLING Fringilla montifringilla, Linnæus

This bird, closely allied to the Chaffinch, is only a winter visitor to this country, visiting us in large numbers every autumn, when it will usually be found feeding on the beech-mast. In years when the "mast" is plentiful these birds seem to be much more numerous than in other seasons, but this is probably due to the fact that, tempted by the abundance of food, they elect to pass the winter with us instead of moving on southwards. Frequenting the open field in company with other Finches, it feeds also largely on seeds and berries, though in summer it becomes, like the Chaffinch, chiefly insectivorous. Its breeding range extends across Europe and Asia, in the sub-Arctic birch forests, whence it migrates southwards through Central Europe, but seldom reaching the Mediterranean basin. In our islands it is commonest in the north and east, becoming scarce in the west and south-west. In Ireland it has only occurred at very irregular intervals. It commences the return journey in March or earlier, the actual time being largely dependent on the state of the weather, and by the first week in April the last stragglers have usually left us.

The male in summer has the head, nape, and upper parts blue black, with the exception of the rump, which is white. Upper wing coverts orange buff; greater wing coverts black tipped with white. Throat and breast orange; belly white; flanks spotted with black. Bill deep lead grey. In winter the black of the upper parts is largely concealed by broad buff margins to the feathers and the under parts are much duller. Bill yellow with a black tip. The female is dull brown on the back and a brownish white below. The young resemble the female. Length 6·1 in.; wing 3·6 in.

THE SNOW-FINCH Montifringilla nivalis, Linnæus

A single example of this bird, which inhabits the high mountains of Central and Southern Europe, was observed consorting with Larks near Rye in Sussex in February 1905.

The head and neck are grey; upper parts brown with darker centres; wing coverts, secondaries, and the whole of the under parts white; tail feathers, except the central pair, which are brown, white tipped with black; chin black. Length 6·4 in.; wing 4·53 in.

THE LINNET Linota cannabina (Linnæus)

A delightful little bird of sombre plumage is the Linnet, and as a cage-bird he has long been a prime favourite. In this country he is generally distributed and fairly common. Almost any kind of country suits him--hedges near open and cultivated land, furze-clad commons, or the wild hillside all afford him shelter and food. In habits he is gregarious and may be seen during the winter in small parties of from eight to ten flying from place to place, with cheery twittering, and if the weather be severe, especially when snow is on the ground, he collects in enormous flocks of several hundreds. Their food consists of seeds and berries, though insects are largely eaten during the summer months. The nest is placed in a furze bush or hedge at no great distance from the ground, and is a neat and compact structure of grass and bents bound together with a little moss and wool, and lined with hair, wool, and feathers. The six eggs are of a delicate pale blue blotched with moderately large reddish-brown spots. Two broods, at least, are reared in the season, and when the cares of housekeeping are completed they wander about at random until the following spring brings a return of more serious occupation. The song, although very pleasing, cannot be called great, and is a kind of continuous chuckling which is often delivered whilst on the wing. The flight is as a rule strong, rapid, and undulating, the flocks often travelling considerable distances to reach a favourite feeding-ground or when returning to roost in a well-sheltered plantation. During the courting season the male indulges also in a very pretty love flight; he rises some distance in the air and then slowly descends with rapid flutterings of his wings and out-spread tail, singing at the same time with all his might.

In autumn large numbers reach us from the Continent, and there is also a certain amount of emigration among our home-bred birds.

The upper parts in the male are brownish, greyer on the nape and more rufous on the mantle. Wing and tail feathers black with white outer margins. Crown of the head and breast deep crimson; flanks brown; belly white. Length 5·5 in.; wing 3·15 in. In winter the red on the crown and breast is deep brown and the feathers of those parts have broad yellowish margins. The female resembles the male on the upper parts, but the mantle is duller and the white of the primaries is much less in extent. The under parts are yellowish brown streaked with dark brown, and the head is also streaked with brown.

The young resemble the female, but are paler.

THE MEALY REDPOLL Linota linaria (Linnæus)

This species breeds in circumpolar regions far north above the limit of tree growth, wherever a few dwarf birch or willow afford it enough cover for nesting, and is only an irregular winter resident in our islands. It has been subdivided into various races by systematic writers, on differences which need not concern us here, but although the commonest form met with in these islands belongs, as we would naturally suppose, to the North European race, the Greenland form has also been noticed on several occasions. Wandering through the country in small parties and associating with our native Redpolls, this species frequents gardens, stack-yards, or still more frequently, the low scrub that may be found in many places along the coast. With us its food consists almost entirely of small seeds, but during the breeding season in the north it feeds largely on insects. Its stays with us are of short duration, for it rarely arrives before the first cold weather in November and leaves our shores again early in February to revisit as soon as possible its northern home.

It is very similar in general appearance to the following species, but is larger and paler, especially on the rump. Length 5·1 in.; wing 2·9 in. The Greenland race is larger still, almost equalling the Linnet in size. There is still another form which has occurred in these islands and which may be recognised by its nearly white rump.

THE LESSER REDPOLL Linota rufescens (Vieillot)

This species is a regular resident with us and may be found in most of our counties. As a breeding bird, however, it becomes scarcer in the south of England and local in Scotland, its chief haunts at that time of year being the north of England, Wales, and Ireland.

During the winter months it wanders about in large parties and its chuckling call-note may often be heard as they pass from one field to another. It nests chiefly in woods, the nest being placed against the trunk of some tree at a moderate height from the ground. The nest is an extremely neat structure of twigs and moss, beautifully formed and lined with vegetable down, wool, and feathers. The eggs, except in size, are much like those of the Linnet, but the ground colour is darker and the spots are smaller. In summer the Lesser Redpoll feeds chiefly on insects, but seeds and berries are eaten at all seasons and especially in winter.

They may be found in all kinds of country, generally associating with other Finches and Buntings, but they are rather more partial to woods, gardens, and orchards. Their song bears a family resemblance to that of the Linnet, but is not so melodious or sweet. This bird is very tame and confiding, and may often be watched as it moves about in the trees of some orchard, examining them carefully for insects and reminding one in its actions of the Tits.

The male has the upper parts of a warm brown with darker streaks. Lores and throat black; the crown, rump, and breast are carmine; rest of the under parts whitish, becoming browner with dark streaks on the flanks. In autumn the red tints on the rump and breast are much obscured by the broader pale edgings to the feathers. The female is rather smaller than the male and lacks the red on the breast and rump. The breast is buff with dark stripes, and the rump similar in colour to the mantle but paler. The young resemble the hen but lack the red on the crown. Length 4·75 in.; wing 2·75 in.

In winter this species shows far more red on the breast than does the Mealy Redpoll at the same time of year.

THE TWITE Linota flavirostris (Linnæus)

Inhabiting moorlands and breeding among the heather, this gregarious species may be found from the Midlands northwards. In England, however, it cannot be called common, but in parts of North Wales, Scotland, and Ireland it is abundant. It nests in colonies, the nests being placed on the ground or in a low bush; they are neatly made of rootlets, pieces of heather, and moss, lined with hair and wool.

The eggs, like those of the other Redpolls, are blue spotted with red. Two broods are reared in the season, and as soon as the first brood is fledged the whole colony will sometimes move off to an adjacent spot for the second brood, so that they may be found with young in the nest one week, and a few days later no sign of them or their young will be found at that spot. During the summer their food consists largely of insects, while seeds form their chief diet in winter. After the breeding season they leave the upper moorlands and wander south, a fair number reaching the south of England, especially in severe winters. It chiefly frequents the wild open country and marshes by the sea-shore, but in the more wooded localities it is rarely found and it seldom perches on trees. It has a pleasing little song and the call-note is a loud "twah-it," whence its English name of Twite.

General colour above dark brown with slightly paler edgings to each feather. Wing feathers blackish with white outer margins, as in the Linnet. Tail somewhat forked, the feathers being black with whitish inner margins to the three outer pairs. Under parts buffish white streaked with brown. In the male the lores, cheeks, throat, and rump are suffused with rose red, but the female shows no red whatever. The bill in both sexes is deep horn-coloured in summer and yellowish in winter. The young resemble the female. Length 5 in.; wing 3 in.

THE BULLFINCH Pyrrhula europæa, Vieillot