"  When  whinny  braes  are  garlanded  with  gold,
And,  blythe,  the  lamb  pursues,  in  merry  chase,
His  twin  around  the  bush ;  the  Linnet,  then,
With  the  prickly  fortress  builds  her  bower,
And  warmly  lines  it  round,  with  hair  and  wool
Inwove.     Sweet  minstrel,  may'st  thou  long  delight
The  whinny  know,  and  broomy  brae,  and  bank
Of  fragrant  birch  !     May  never  fowler's  snare
Tangle  thy  struggling  foot !"


10


146  Nests  and  Eggs  of


BULLFINCH.
COAL-HOOD.       RED-HOOP.      TINY-HOOP.      ALP.       POPE.
NOPE.
FIGURE  48.
jjHIS  is  rather  a  handsome  than  an  elegant  bird ;
the  shape  is  somewhat  clumsy,  but  the  plumage
exceedingly  rich  and  striking.  We  need  not
describe  it,  as  all  our  readers  must  have  seen  the  large-
bodied,  red-breasted,  and  black-hooded  Finch,  called  by
naturalists  Loxia  pyrrhula  or  Pyrrhula  vulgaris,  the
first  term  signifying  oblique  or  transverse,  from  the
shape  of  the  bill ;  the  second,  a  bird  with  red  plumage,
from pyrros,  red;  and  the  third,  vulgaris,  common.
The  Bullfinch  is  more  especially  a  bird  of  the  green-
wood ;  it  is  not  much  found  in  either  very  barren  or
very  highly-cultivated  districts,  although  its  retreats
are  not  generally  far  from  the  latter.  It  delights  to
dwell  amid  the  chequered  shade  of  interlacing  boughs,
whence  it  can  sally  out  to  some  near-at-hand  orchard
or  garden,  to  feast  upon  the  ripe  fruit,  or  the  blossom-
buds  of  various  trees,  such  as  the  apple,  pear,  cherry,
medlar,  gooseberry,  or  the  plum.  Mr.  Morris  con-
jectures that  the  common  name  of  this  bird  is  a  cor-
ruption of  Budfinch,  or  Boodfinch,  as  it  is  pronounced
in  the  north.  Besides  fruit,  this  Finch  feeds  on  the


Familiar  Birds.  147

seeds  and  leaves  of  groundsel  and  other  weeds,  hips  and
haws,  and  various  kinds  of  berries.
