SECTION VI.-OSCINES. SONGSTERS. THESE are characterised by a conical beak, in some more cylindrical, and pointed at the tip, generally slender, and the upper mandible of which is immoveable. Their food consists chiefly of insects, but they also eat berries and worms. One species lives entirely on aquatic insects and mollusca, in search of which it goes into the water, diving to the bottom. Some are almost equally insectivorous and granivorous, as the Larks; others essentially insectivorous, as the Wheatear and Whinchat. Their nest is artificially made, and both male and female participate in hatching. These birds, considered collectively, are obviously more deserving of the name of songsters than any others, their vocal powers being of the highest order, in general possessing more musical talent than all the other groups together; but several species among them, for example, the Skylark, the Woodlark, the Wood Thrush, the Common Thrush, the Blackbird, the Nightingale, the Black Cap, and the Garden Warbler, excel all competitors in the variety, melody, and compass of their song. The twenty-five English vernal immigrants make their appearance in the neighbourhood of London in the following order. The earliest and latest reliable dates of arrival are given in separate columns after the names : Order of arrival. Name of bird. Earliest date of arrival, Latest date of arrival. March 29 (1834) April 17 April 20 March 27 'May 8 (1834) April 25 6. Willow Wren... April 1 April 20 April 2 April 20 April 5 May 8 (1834) April April 28 April 9 May 25 (1834) April 9 April 21 April 9 April 25 13. Yellow Wagtail................... April 9 April 25 April 12 April 23 April 13 May 15 April 15 May 16 (1834) April 16 April 29 April 20 May 12 April 21 May 22 (1834) 20. Garden Warbler.. April 22 May 12 April 23 May 21 (1834) April 24 May 9 23. Spotted Flycatcher.... April 30 May 15 24. Goatsucker May 1 May 27 May 1 May 29 (1834) In studying this table of dates, with a view to drawing any definite conclusion as to averages, great caution must be observed; in the first place, it is to be noted that, although the dates in the "earliest" column are simply records of facts, and therefore direct evidence, the dates in the "latest" column partake in great measure of the character of negative evidence, and imply little more than that the observer failed to see or hear the species named, prior to the date he has given. Then, again, in the remarkable year 1834, every bird was at least three weeks after its usual time, a circumstance which greatly increases the difficulty of deducing averages. 79. THE BULLFINCH. Linn.-BOUVREUIL. Buff-BULLFINCH. Moni. LOXIA PYRRHULA. DESCRIPTION.—This favourite is short and thick, like most of the species of the genus Loxia. Its length is six inches and three quarters, of which the tail measures two inches and three quarters. The beak is half an inch long, black, short, and thick; the irides chestnut; the feet are slender and black, and the chin eight lines high. The vertex, the margin of the base of the bill, and the chin as well as the beginning of the throat are of a shining velvet black; the upper part of the neck, the back, and the scapulars, dark, ashy grey; the rump of a beautiful white; the front of the neck, the robust breast, and the upper part of the abdomen of a beautiful carmine, paler in the young, redder in the adult; the rest of the under part of the body white; the pinion feathers blackish, the darker the nearer they approach the body; the posterior ones of a steel blue on the external margin, the last red upon the external web; the lare covert of the wings of a beautiful glittering black, with reddish grey tips, the middle ones ashy grey, the smallest blackish ashy grey, with reddish edges; the tail somewhat forked, and of a glittering steel blue black. The female differs materially from the male, having all the red parts reddish grey, the back brownish ashy grey, with the feet paler. She is also smaller. There are, besides, other varieties found in confinement :— a. THE WHITE BULLFINCH, of a somewhat ashy grey white, or entirely white, with dark spots upon the back. 6. THE BLACK BULLFINCH.-It is particularly the females which become black, either in youth, when they are withdrawn entirely from the sun, and hang in a dark place, or in old age, when they are too exclusively fed upon hemp seed. Some resume their original plumage after moulting; others remain always black, but varying considerably-some being of a glittering jet black, others only of a smoky black, rather brighter upon the abdomen. There are also some with a bright black head, and the rest smoky; again, others black, and intermingled with red only on some few of the upper parts of the lower side; others, again, black, with an entirely red abdomen; and, lastly, some few years back I saw one which was from the head to the breast black both upon the upper and under part of the body, the rest rusty, but with white wings and a white tail. This was a very handsome bird, rather larger than a Robin, and was a female. c. THE VARIEGATED BULLFINCH.-The predominant colour is white, or indeed black, spotted with white and ashy grey. d. THE BASTARD BULLFINCH.-This variety springs from a young reared female Bullfinch and a male Canary bird; it partakes of the form and colouring of both parents, and sings very agreeably, although not so loudly as the Canary. It is, however, a very great rarity; for the young of this intermixture are reared with difficulty. There are other varieties which have indeed been treated as distinct species, namely, a larger kind, of the size of a Redwing Thrush; one of middle size, as large as a common Chaffinch; and a smaller, which is said to be considerably less than a Chaffinch; but they are all accidental varieties, such as occur in all birds. I can the more safely assert this, having had the opportunity of seeing together, yearly, some hundreds, not only of wild ones, but also of tame and instructed ones; and I have seen them occasionally as small as a Robin, and as large as a Grosbeak, taken from the very same nest. HABITAT.-In Europe it is found as. high up as Sweden and throughout Russia. In Germany it is very common in the mountain forests. Male and female associate in pairs almost throughout the year. In winter they roam hither and thither in search of berries. When caught they may be placed in a room or cage with other birds; they soon get reconciled to the change. Birds already instructed should be placed in a large handsome bell-shaped cage, which ought to be hung in a separate room, otherwise the notes of other singing birds would speedily spoil their acquired melodies. FOOD.-Their food consists of the seeds of the fir and pine, the kernels of almost all kinds of berries-such as the ash, the maple, the hornbeam, and the buds of the red beech, maple, oak, and pear trees; also bruised rape seed, millet, nettle, and grass seeds. Those which are left to run about the room should be fed with the usual general food, mixing it occasionally, by way of variety, with rape seed; while the instructed bird should be fed with hemp seed and rape seed, with now and then some unflavoured biscuit. They live longest upon rape seed steeped in water, without any hemp, the latter being so heating as to produce blindness, or superinducing atrophy. They require occasionally some green food, such as water-cresses, a bit of apple, berries of the service tree, or salad. BREEDING.-Bullfinches are exceedingly affectionate birds, both at large and in confinement. The male and female are rarely found separated, calling to each other in a languid voice, and incessantly billing. The female will frequently drop her eggs in the room; and they breed like Canary birds when furnished with a similar cage, or with a box provided with a fir-tree and moss, but they rarely rear their young. At large they hatch twice a-year, building their nests in pines and fir-trees, or in quickset hedges the latter they prefer light, thick, and situated in old and unfrequented |