Were it not so common, occurring abundantly throughout these islands, this bird would be appreciated as one of our prettiest songsters and by no means unattractive in plumage.

The winter is spent in company with other Finches and Buntings in the fields or stackyards, where it feeds on the grain and other seeds, and we must confess that it performs its share in despoiling the farmer of his hard-earned produce, paying at the same time a sort of compensation in the destruction of numerous weeds. It is resident, and towards the middle of April constructs a somewhat untidy nest of twigs, rootlets, and moss, lined with grass, hair, and feathers, usually placed at a moderate height in a hedge, against the bole of a tree, or more rarely among ivy against a wall. The eggs, six in number, are large for the size of the bird and very pale blue, spotted, especially towards the larger end, with pale rust-red spots. During the summer large numbers of grubs and caterpillars are consumed in addition to the usual seeds; the young are fed by regurgitation. The call-note is a long drawn-out “tsweer,” and is uttered with monotonous frequency during the spring and summer months, but it has also a very pretty warbling song full of little trills and modulations which it utters when sitting on a branch or when courting its mate with drooping wings and outspread tail, and every feather on its body quivering with excitement and passion.