68 CHAFFINCH.

assiduous in his attendance during the time of hatching,
seldom straying far, and that only to procure food.

_ Chaffinches subsist chiefly on small seeds, likewise on
caterpillars and insects, with which they also feed their
young. They are seldom kept in cages, as their song
possesses no variety, aud they are not apt in learning
the notes of other birds. The males frequently maintain
obstinate combats, and fight till one of them is van-
quished.”

In that always popular and charming work, ‘White’s
Natural History of Selborne,” he points out the fact,
which is indeed constantly to be witnessed, that, in the
winter, the large flocks which appear in some parts of
the country, are entirely composed of hen birds.