File:Stories about birds of land and water (1874) (14750850395).jpg

Identifier: storiesaboutbird00kirb (find matches)
Title: Stories about birds of land and water
Year: 1874 (1870s)
Authors: Kirby, Mary, 1817-1893 Kirby, Elizabeth, 1823-1873
Subjects: Birds -- Juvenile literature
Publisher: Hartford (Conn.) : American Publishing Co.
Contributing Library: American Museum of Natural History Library
Digitizing Sponsor: Biodiversity Heritage Library

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for the native thinks they are very nice toeat, and kills and cooks as many as he can. The rice-bird is often painted by the Chinese on his rice-paper, and arather grotesque figure he makes of it. THE CHAFFINCH. The chaffinch is much more common than the goldfinch, and is seen every-where in the gardens and the orchards. He is almost as familiar as thesparrow, but wears a gayer costume. The upper part of his head and neckis a greyish blue, and he has a black band on his forehead. His back is ofa reddish brown, and his breast has a purple tint; and, altogether, though notso brilliant as the goldfinch, he is a handsome and attractive bird. The mother chaffinch is much smaller than her mate, and not so gailydressed. The chaffinch has no song of any importance, but he utters a note thatsounds like tweet, tweet/ as quick as possible, and sometimes with rather a 136 STORIES ABOUT BIRDS. musical sound. But his melody, such as it is, soon becomes lost in the richerharmony of the other birds.
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CHAFFINCHtS. When the little ones are grown up, and all family cares are over, thechaffinches fly in flocks with the sparrows and other small birds. They look THE CHAFFINCH. 137 for berries in the hedges and gardens, for it is now autumn, and there areneither seeds nor caterpillars. And they visit the farmyards and pick up thegrains of corn, and get them out of the husk with their bills. Often, when the farmer walks into the stackyard, thousands of sparrowsand finches fly out of the stacks in clouds. In Sweden the hen chaffinches, by going away in the winter, and leavingtheir mates behind, are quite by themselves. This is the reason why thegreat naturalist Linnaeus gave the chaffinch the name of ccelcbs, a word whichmeans a bachelor.

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