Part 26

THE MOUNTAIN OR TREE SPARROW PASSER MONTÁNUS

Crown and back of the head chestnut-brown; lore, ear-coverts, and throat black; neck almost surrounded by a white collar; upper plumage resembling the last; wing with two transverse white bars. The female scarcely differs from the male. Length five inches and a half. Eggs as in the last.

The Mountain Sparrow seems scarcely to deserve its name, as it is by no means confined to mountainous districts. It is abundant all over the European continent, and is to be met with here and there in many parts of England in the east of Scotland and of late years in Ireland and in the Hebrides; but it is nowhere so abundant as the House Sparrow, which it resembles in all respects, except that the head is of a bright chestnut colour, and the neck wears a white collar. I have never seen it except in society with the common species, and could never detect any difference either in flight or note; but other observers state that the flight is slow and constrained, and the note assumes more the character of a song. The nest is placed in soft rotten wood of pollard willows and other trees, in hollow trees and under the thatch of buildings.

THE CHAFFINCH FRINGILLA CÆLEBS

Forehead black; crown and nape greyish blue; back and scapulars chestnut, tinged with green; rump green; breast wine-red, fading towards the abdomen into white; wings black, with two white bands; coverts of the secondaries tipped with yellow; tail black, the two middle feathers ash-grey, the two outer on each side black, with a broad oblique white band. Female--head, back and scapulars, ash-brown, tinged with olive; lower parts greyish white; the transverse bands less distinct. Length six inches. Eggs greenish purple, streaked and spotted with purple-brown.

'Gai comme Pinson', as gay as a Chaffinch, is a familiar French proverb, which describes not only the character of the bird, but the peculiar temperament which in France is an essential part of gaiety. The Chaffinch is a smart, lively, active bird, always in a bustle, flitting here and there incessantly and staying long nowhere, always wearing a holiday look, so trim and spruce is he, and rattling through his song with wondrous volubility. It received the name cælebs, bachelor, from Linnæus, who observed that the flocks in winter are composed for the most part either exclusively of males or of females. Large flocks arrive on our east coast each year from the Continent, and others coming from the north spread themselves over the country to the southward. During the open weather of autumn and early winter, Chaffinches frequent stubble and ploughed fields, where they busily collect grain and the seeds of various weeds, and are not, I fear, very scrupulous whether they are engaged as gleaners of what is lost, or robbers of what is sown. In severe weather they resort to farmyards and homesteads, where, along with Sparrows, Buntings, and Greenfinches, they equally consider all they can find as provided for their own especial use. On the return of spring, they feed upon the young shoots, and for a few weeks show themselves great enemies to horticulture. Their visits to our flower-gardens, paid very early in the morning, are attested by scattered buds of polyanthuses, which they attack and pull to pieces as soon as they begin to push from between the leaves. In the kitchen-garden they are yet more mischievous, showing a strong inclination for all pungent seeds. Woe to the unthrifty gardener, who, while drilling in his mustard, or cress, or radishes, scatters a few seeds on the surface! The quick eye of some passing Chaffinch will surely detect them; so surely will the stray grains serve as a clue to the treasure concealed beneath, and so surely will a hungry band of companions rush to 'the diggings', and leave the luckless proprietor a poor tithe of his expected crop. Yet so large is the number of the seeds of weeds that the Chaffinch consumes, in the course of a year, more particularly of groundsel, chickweed, and buttercup, that he, without doubt, more than compensates for all his misdeeds; and as his summer food partially, and that of his young family exclusively, consists of caterpillars and other noxious insects, he is in reality among the gardener's best friends, who should be scared away at the seasons when his visits are not welcome, and encouraged at all other times. The Chaffinch, though a wary bird, does not stand greatly in fear of man; for if disturbed at a meal, he is generally satisfied with the protection afforded by the branches of the nearest tree, on which he hops about until the danger is past, uttering his simple but not unpleasing note, 'twink' or 'pink' or 'spink, spink, spink' as it is variously translated. To this cry it adds the syllable 'tweet', frequently repeated in an anxious tone and with a peculiar restlessness of manner, which always indicate that its nest is somewhere very near at hand, and by which indeed it is very often betrayed.

Its proper song commences very early in spring, and is continued until June or later. This must be the song which the poet had in view when he sang:--

Then as a little helpless innocent bird, That has but one plain passage of few notes, Will sing the simple passage o'er and o'er, For all one April morning, till the ear Wearies to hear it. --TENNYSON.

It consists of from ten to twelve notes of the same tone, and about the same length, with the last but one elevated and accented, uttered rapidly at short intervals, and without the least variation.

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.

Siskin Goldfinch

Chaffinch

Hawfinch

Mealy Redpoll

Redpole Twite

Bullfinch ]

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.

It is not unusual in the country to hear mention made of the Brown, the Grey, and the Rose or Red Linnet, and the Common Linnet, as if these were all different birds. Such, however, is not the case. The Linnet is a bird which varies its plumage considerably at different seasons of the year, in consequence of which, at a period when little attention was paid to Ornithology, the same individual was known by whichever of these names best described its characteristic colouring. Even by the earlier ornithologists there were supposed to be two species, one of which was called Linota, probably from its having been observed feeding on flax-seed (Linum); the other Cannabina, from having been seen to feed on hemp seed (Cannabis). Linnets offer themselves to our notice in the evenings of autumn and winter more than at any other time. Large flocks of them may then be observed making their way, with rapid and irregular flight, towards tall trees which happen to stand in the vicinity of a common or a furze-brake. On the summits of these they alight, with their heads, in stormy weather, always turned towards the wind, and after keeping up a continuous twittering for a few minutes, suddenly drop into their roosting-places among the furze and thick shrubs. At the return of dawn, they issue forth to their feeding-grounds, still congregated in large flocks, and spend the whole of the day in hunting on the ground for food. This consists principally of the seeds of various weeds, especially wild-mustard or charlock, wild-cabbage, and other plants of the same tribe, thistle and dandelion; chance grains of corn no doubt are not passed by, but any injury which may be done by these birds, either to standing crops or newly-sowed lands, must be far outweighed by their services as destroyers of weeds and insects, which latter also enter into their dietary. At this season their only note is a simple call, mellow and pleasant, which they utter both while flying and when perched. In spring, the flocks break up, and the members betake themselves in pairs to the commons and heaths, which afforded them night-lodging during winter. Here they build their nests at a moderate distance from the ground, more frequently in a furze-bush than anywhere else, but occasionally in other shrubs or an adjoining hedge. The nest is constructed of small twigs, moss, roots, and wool; and is lined with hair, feathers, and sometimes vegetable down. The Linnet lays four or five eggs. The spring and summer song of the Linnet is remarkable neither for compass nor power; it is, however, very sweet, and on this account the Linnet is a favourite cage-bird.

THE MEALY REDPOLL ACANTHIS LINÁRIA

Throat and lore black; forehead and crown blood-red; breast and rump rose-red; under parts white; nape reddish white, with dusky streaks; shoulders and back with dark streaks, edged with white; quills and tail feathers greyish brown, edged with white. Length five and a half inches.

A northern species of Linnet, closely resembling the Lesser Redpoll, but larger. It visits Great Britain only in the winter and at irregular intervals, being in some seasons tolerably abundant, and in others not seen at all. Little appears to be known of its habits.

THE LESSER REDPOLL ACANTHIS RUFESCENS

Forehead, throat, and lore black; crown deep crimson; under parts light crimson tinged with buff, fading towards the tail into white; upper parts reddish brown, with dusky streaks; wings and tail dusky, edged with pale reddish brown. Female--all the colours less bright. Length five and a quarter inches. Eggs bluish white, speckled at the larger end with reddish brown.