One of the best of the recently published accounts of this
bird is in the first volume of the Magazine of Zoology and
Botany. Mr. Henry Doubleday, the author of the paper,
residing at Epping, within a short distance of Epping Forest,
one of the localities in which these birds abound, says, “ I
have for some years past given close attention to their habits,
and I can safely assert, that they are permanent residents,
nor can I perceive any addition to their numbers by the arrival
of foreigners at any period of the year.
“ Their extreme shyness has no doubt contributed to keep
us in ignorance of their habits and economy; in this trait
they exceed any land bird with which I am acquainted, and
in open places it is almost impossible to approach them
within gun-shot. Their principal food here appears to be the
seed of the Hornbeam, (Carpinus betulus, Linn.) which is the
prevailing species of tree in Epping Forest; they also feed
on the kernels of the haws, plum stones, laurel berries, &c.,
and in summer make great havoc amongst green peas in gardens
in the vicinity of the forest.'”
c< About the middle of April they pair, and in a week or
two commence nidification. The situation of the nest is
various ; but is most commonly placed in an old scrubby
whitethorn bush, often in a very exposed situation ; they also
frequently build on the horizontal arms of large oaks, the
heads of pollard hornbeams, in hollies, and occasionally in
fir trees in plantations; the elevation at which the nest is
placed varying from five to twenty-five or thirty feet. The
most correct description of the nest which I have seen is in
Latham s Synopsis. I t is there said to be composed of the
dead twigs of oak, honeysuckle, &e. intermixed with pieces
of grey lichen ; the quantity of this last material varies much
in different nests, but it is never absent; in some it is only
very sparingly placed among the twigs ; in others the greater
part of the nest is composed of i t ; the lining consists of fine
roots and a little hair. The whole fabric is very loosely put
together, and it requires considerable care to remove it from
its situation uninjured.”
In a letter from Mr. Henry Doubleday, the situations of
five nests are thus noticed; one was built in a whitethorn,
one on the head of a pollard hornbeam, a third twenty-five
feet from the ground on a spruce fir, the fourth on a tall red
cedar, the fifth in a holly. Joseph Gurney Barclay, Esq.,
who lives at Leighton, on the London border of Epping
Forest, pointed out to me a nest of this bird in an apple tree
in his garden. This gentleman had also taken a nest from a
tall whitethorn 'on the forest, from which example the figure
forming the vignette to this account was drawn. The nest in
this instance was formed of twigs laid across the branches in
various directions as a frame-work or foundation of support;
and the whole of the upper part was composed of gardener’s
bass, wreathed in circles, and mixed with a few fine roots.
A nest brought to me, containing three eggs and one young
bird, which was taken from a tall fir tree near Bexley, had a
flat under surface of dead twigs of fir and birch, nearly as
thick as a wheat straw, with fibrous roots and grey lichen
laid flat upon them, the structure resembling the platform
nests made by Doves and Pigeons.
Mr. Doubleday says, “ The eggs vary in number from
four to six, and are of a pale olive green, spotted with black,
and irregularly streaked with dusky grey. Some specimens
are far less marked than others, and I have seen some of a
uniform pale green the length eleven lines by eight lines
and a half in breadth.
u The young are hatched about the third week in May, and
as soon as they are able to provide for themselves, they unite
with the old birds in flocks, varying in numbers from fifteen
or twenty to one hundred, or even to two hundred individuals.
In this manner they remain through the winter, feed