[Illustration]
Fringilla Coelebs, LINNÆUS; Le Pinson commun, BUFFON; Der
Buch-Fink, BECHSTEIN.
This delightful songster of spring, famed for the sprightliness of its
warbling,--this favourite of most of our bird-fanciers, is so generally
known that I should be tempted to suppress its description if the
uniformity of this work and the wish to render it complete, did not
impel me to give it. This will also offer some particulars worthy the
attention of the naturalist.
The passion for this bird is carried to such an extent in Thuringia, and
those which sing well are sought for with so much activity that scarcely
a single chaffinch that warbles tolerably can be found throughout the
province. As soon as one arrives from a neighbouring country whose notes
appear good, all the bird-catchers are after it, and do not give up the
pursuit till they have taken it. This is the reason why the chaffinches
in this province are so indifferent songsters: the young ones have only
bad masters in the old ones, and they in their turn cannot prove better.
This bird is six inches and one-third in length, of which the tail
measures two and three quarters. The beak is conical, pointed, and white
in winter; but as soon as spring, the season of pairing and song,
arrives, and till the time of moulting, it is of a deep blue, and one
may know by this whether it has sung or not. The iris is chestnut brown;
the legs, nine lines high, are dusky; the claws are very sharp, and grow
so fast in a cage that it is necessary to cut them every six weeks, if
you do not wish to see the poor bird some day caught by them, and perish
miserably unless rescued. The forehead is black, the top of the head and
nape of the neck are greyish blue, in very old males deep blue, and
then thick downy hairs are perceived.
After moulting, at the beginning of winter, the colours become lighter,
the front of the head is only deep brown; the top and the nape of the
neck a changeable greyish and olive brown; the red brown of the breast
is brighter; this is also the plumage of the young ones in the second
year, particularly if of the last brood; they are called grey-heads, by
bird-catchers, who can easily distinguish, in the spring, the young from
the old males, and very much prefer them, because, if properly caught,
they may be taught to improve their song when confined in the house;
while the others never learn, or change very little, at least rarely,
the song they have acquired in their wild state.
The female is very different, being smaller, while the head, neck, and
upper part of the back are greyish brown, and all the under part of the
body is a dusky white, rather reddish grey on the breast; and the beak,
greyish brown in spring, becomes greyish white in winter.
There are some remarkable varieties of this species, one quite white,
another with a white collar, a third streaked, spotted, &c. There is no
distinction between the wood chaffinches and those of the gardens and
orchards, as has been alleged.
HABITATION.--In its wild state, the chaffinch frequents forests,
copses, and orchards, and ought to be reckoned among birds of
passage, though there are always some that remain the winter with us.
The time of passage, in autumn, continues from the beginning of
October to the middle of November, and in spring during the month of
March. These birds perform their journey in large flocks. In the
spring the males arrive in separate flights, fifteen days before the
females; our bird-catchers know this so well, that as soon as they
perceive these they put up their implements, their sport being then
over.
In the house, though each may vary the form of the cage to his taste,
the best, in my opinion, is an oblong cage nine inches long, seven in
depth, and seven in height, with the food and water at the two
farthest sides, and the perches placed opposite. A bell-shaped cage
does not suit the chaffinch, as it prefers jumping down in front, and
swinging itself round, to remaining at the top. If there are several
in one room they must be placed so as not to see each other, or their
song will be injured. Those only are allowed to range whose song is
very inferior, and must be provided with a grated place to retire to,
or some branches to perch on. These never sing so well as those in
cages, their song appearing to require the greatest attention, and
hence there should be nothing to distract them.
FOOD.--When wild, their food in spring is all sorts of insects, which
they carry to their young in their beaks; later in the season they
eat various kinds of seeds, pine and fir seeds, when they inhabit
forests that contain them, linseed, oats, rape, cabbage, and lettuce,
which they know well how to procure and shell.
In the house they are fed all the year on rape seed, dried in summer,
or, which is better, soaked and swelled in water, on which food they
appear to thrive. Every day a sufficient quantity should be soaked
for the next, and given them fresh every morning. In the spring they
are allowed a little hemp-seed, or the seed of the nettle-hemp
(_Galeopsis Tetrahit_), to excite their song, and this plant is
therefore very much prized in Thuringia; but these seeds should not
be mixed with the rape, as in trying to find them they soon scatter
their food; it is best to put it in a separate drawer fastened to the
iron wires of the cage, between which it may be slipped. It must not
be omitted to supply them with green vegetables, chickweed, lettuce,
and the like; and in winter a piece of apple, meal-worms, and ants'
eggs agree with them. They must have fresh water regularly every day,
both to drink and bathe in.
Those that range the room live on the different sorts of food they
meet with, bread, meat, and all sorts of seeds.
BREEDING.--The nest of the chaffinch is one of the most beautiful of
birds' nests, and formed in the most skilful manner. It is the shape
of a half globe flattened on the upper part, and so perfectly rounded
that it has the appearance of having been turned on a lathe.
Cobwebs[36] and wool fasten it to the branch, bits of moss with small
twigs entwined form the ground-work; the lining is composed of
feathers, thistle-down, the hair of horses and other animals, whilst
the outer covering is formed of the different lichens that grow on
the tree in which it is placed, the whole firmly united and well
cemented. This outer finish is no doubt intended to deceive an
enemy's eye; in fact, it is very difficult, even with great
attention, to distinguish the nest from the bark of the branch on
which it is fixed.
The female has two broods in the year; she lays from three to five
eggs, of a pale bluish grey, spotted and streaked with brown: the
first brood (and this is confirmed in general by observations of
other birds) rarely produces any but males, the second only females.
Bird-fanciers can distinguish the one from the other before they
leave the nest; the breast of the male already discovering a reddish
tint, the circle round the eyes being yellower, the wings blacker,
and the lines that cross them whiter, though in other respects it
resembles its mother. If you wish to be quite sure, pluck some
feathers from the breast of the bird you have taken from the nest, in
a fortnight they will be replaced, and the presence or absence of red
will infallibly decide whether it is male or female. As soon as the
tail-feathers begin to appear they must be taken from the nest, to
prevent the possibility of their ear being injured by hearing an
imperfect song, for scarcely are the wings and tail half grown than
these birds begin to warble, and to imitate the song of those around
them.
They must be fed on rape seed soaked in water and the crumb of white
bread; it is very easy to rear them and preserve them healthy till
the time of moulting, but then numbers perish, particularly if not
quickly relieved by being given meal-worms and ants' eggs, or any
other animal food, as bread boiled in or soaked in boiled milk.
Chaffinches that have been reared with care become very familiar, and
sing at command, or when one approaches their cage in a friendly
manner. If they are wished to learn quickly and accurately, they
should be kept in an obscure corner of the room, and only hung up at
the windows in May; this is the surest way to prevent their learning
any thing imperfect. By these means chaffinches that have been taken
full grown have forgotten their former song and adopted a better. The
whole artifice consists in keeping the bird in such retirement as
will remove everything that might distract it when listening to a
fine songster, and take away the wish to sing itself.
There have been examples of chaffinches pairing with female canaries,
and it has been said with a female yellowhammer. The distinction
between wood and garden chaffinches is unfounded, at least as to
species; the eggs of both are of the same whitish pink colour.
DISEASES.--The disorders to which the chaffinch is most subject are
the obstruction of the rump gland[37] and diarrhoea. To cure this
an old nail or a little saffron should be put in the water.
When the scales on the feet become too large, the upper ones must be
cut skilfully with a sharp knife, or else the bird would either lose
the use of his limbs or become gouty; but this operation must be
performed with great care.
Blindness also is not uncommon, particularly where they are fed much
on hemp seed. This does not, however, injure their song, and as it
comes on gradually, it does not prevent their finding their food and
hopping about the perches. By means of proper care a chaffinch may be
preserved twenty years.
MODE OF TAKING.--With good baits the chaffinch may easily be drawn
within the area or decoy from Michaelmas to Martinmas, and in spring
throughout March. Those that remain the winter, or return early in
the year, may be taken in a net baited with oats.
Bird-catchers use in spring lures and lime twigs, and the sport lasts
as long as the time of flight, which begins at daybreak and ends at
nine o'clock. These birds employ the rest of the day in seeking food
in the fields, in resting, and singing. In the same manner are taken
linnets, goldfinches, siskins, yellowhammers, and bullfinches.
Some make use of the excessive jealousy of the males to procure those
whose song is very superior. As soon as a bird-catcher who likes this
way discovers a fine songster wild, he immediately seeks another male
that is in the habit of often repeating its natural cry, _fink,
fink_, ties his wings, and fastens to his tail a little forked stick,
half a finger long, well covered with bird-lime; thus prepared, he
fastens him under the tree on which the one he is watching is
perched; this no sooner sees and hears the false rival than he
becomes enraged, pounces on him like a bird of prey, and is caught
with the bird-lime; his attack is often so violent that sometimes the
bird of call is killed by the stroke of its adversary. The following
is a surer method:--a soft, narrow leather band is fastened round a
male, to which is attached a string a foot long, fastened by a peg,
which allows it but a short space to range. This bird, as we have
already said, is called, in bird-catchers' language, a percher. A
circle of bird-lime is made just beyond its reach, and a cage with a
chaffinch, accustomed to sing either in the shade or exposed, is
placed under a neighbouring bush; as soon as this last begins his
song, which should be a natural one, not any learned in confinement,
the chaffinch that is to be procured darts from the tree like an
arrow on the percher, which it mistakes for the songster, and remains
fixed by the bird-lime. This new prisoner will sing the same year if
it is caught before Whitsuntide: if after, it will never sing, but
will die, evidently from grief at being separated from its female and
young ones. A bird-catcher, cruel as he is stupid, who, without the
least reflection, only thinks of gratifying his ridiculous passion
for bird-catching, may in an hour deprive ten or twelve females of
their beloved companions, their protectors, and numerous young ones
of their father, purveyor, and support: such thoughtless cruelty is,
alas! only too common in Germany. As soon as the young chaffinches
have left the nest, the bird-catchers are very active in discovering
the places where at noon they are accustomed to drink; there they set
perches covered with bird-lime, and by this means many of these little
unwary creatures are taken. However little memory one of these birds
may have, it is capable of learning a good song, and being more
robust than those brought up from the nest, bird-dealers make a good
deal of them. They collect a great many, being sure that some will
succeed amongst them.
ATTRACTIVE QUALITIES.--The first of these is undoubtedly the song of
the bird; but our amateurs are not less attentive to the different
notes that express its passions and wants. The note of tenderness,
and which is also thought to indicate a change of weather, is _trif,
trif_: its call, or the rallying note it makes use of on its passage,
and which so often draws it within the snares of our bird-catchers, is
_ïak, ïak_, repeated several times; the cry _fink, fink_, which it
often repeats, and from which its German name is derived, appears, if
we may so call it, to be mechanical and involuntary. But what makes
it appear to still more advantage among other birds are its clear and
trilling tones, that seem almost to approach to words; in fact, its
warbling is less a song than a kind of _battement_, to make use of a
French word, and is expressed in German by the word _schlag_ (trill),
which is used to designate its song as well as the nightingale's.
Some chaffinches have two, three, four, and even five different
_battemens_, each consisting of several strains, and lasting several
minutes. This bird is so great a favourite in Germany, that not a
single tone of its voice has escaped the experienced ears of our
bird-fanciers. They have observed its nicest shades, and are
continually endeavouring to improve and perfect it. I confess I am
myself one of its warmest admirers; I have constantly around me the
best songsters of its species, and if I liked I could write a good
sized volume on all the details of its music, but I will confine
myself to that which bears most on this subject.
The song of the chaffinch bearing an evident relation to articulate
sounds, its has been thought to distinguish its different variations
by the final syllable of the last strain. The most admired in
Thuringia are the following, which I shall give in their order, and
in their different degrees of superiority.[38]
1. _The Double Trill of the Hartz_ in Lower Saxony is composed of six
strains, rather long, the last of which is ended by dwelling on the
two final syllables, which I shall express here by the word
"_weingeh_[39]." I doubt if ever a bird in its wild state has
executed this so perfectly as I heard it at Ruhl[40] and at my own
house. Art has certainly created it. It is with difficulty that a
chaffinch attains it, if, with the best abilities, it has not been
instructed from its earliest youth. Rarely can it give it complete
without leaving any part out. On this account a high price must be
given for the little prodigy that sings it through, full, entire, and
in all its strength.
2. _The Reiterzong_, or rider's pull, first heard among the mineral
mountains of Saxony and Voigtland, has been known but a short time in
Thuringia. It may be heard from a chaffinch in its wild state, but
those that have been instructed execute it in a fuller, stronger, and
less precipitate manner. This song consists of four strains, the
first of which commences in a high key, and gradually descends. When
in perfection there is a cadenced pause before the two last
syllables, which articulate tolerably clearly _reitzing_ with a _zap_
or clapping, as our amateurs express it. An amateur who has never
heard the double trill of the Hartz would not believe that a
chaffinch could sing in a superior manner to this; however, in this,
as in many other things, each has his taste.
3. _The Wine Song_ is divided into four kinds, 1. the fine, or
Längsfeld wine song[41], is very beautiful, but little known except
in two or three places in Thuringia. It is composed of four strains,
and to be perfect ought to resemble a hautboy, the two last syllables
articulating "_weingeh_." This song has never been heard from a wild
chaffinch, but is one accidentally produced in the house, and
endeavoured to be propagated by education.
2. The bad wine song is not in itself disagreeable, but it is so
named when compared with the former. It is composed of three strains,
of which the penultimate ought to sound _zap_ five times, and the two
last syllables articulate "_weingeh_." When once a wild chaffinch has
been heard to utter this in Germany it is not long ere it is caught.
3. The sharp wine song is not ended by "_weingeh_," but "_weingieh_."
It is subdivided into the common sharp, such as is sometimes heard in
the woods, and the Ruhl sharp, which is an entirely artificial song,
confined to Ruhl and a few other villages of Thuringia. It has but
two strains, of which the first syllables ought to sound as though
flowing into each other, and the penultimate to have an accent.
4. _The Bräutigam_, or bridegroom song, is also divided into good and
bad: the good is only heard in the house, and consists of two simple
strains; it begins _piano_, afterwards _forte_, and, continuing
_crescendo_, ends in the most brilliant sound. After the double trill
of the Hartz it appears to my ear the finest of all. The bad is
occasionally heard in the woods, and is composed of three strains;
but though not devoid of sweetness, does not please so much as the
former.
5. _The Double Trill_ is formed of two long strains, divided by a
cadenced pause, which is named the shake. They distinguish, 1. the
common, subdivided into four; _a_, the strong, _b_, the clear, _c_,
the long, and _d_, the short. These are heard sometimes in the woods
and orchards; but chaffinches that sing _a_ or _b_ soon become the
prey of our bird-catchers. 2. The double trill of Iambach[42]; this
is only to be acquired in the house, and is so deep and powerful that
one can scarcely conceive how the larynx of so small a bird can
produce such sounds. It begins _piano_, and swelling its tones
successively in _crescendo_, makes of the _trilling_ a strain of five
piercing tones, afterwards repeats "_pfaff_" four or five times, and
ends by dwelling on "_Rüdidia_." A chaffinch that possesses this
song, either alone, or united with the good bridegroom's song, such
as are educated in Iambach, sells here for eighteen French francs.
6. _The Gutjahr_, or good year song, is so named from the two last
syllables, and is also divided, 1. into the common, that has but two
strains, of which the second ought to roll five times before
articulating "_gutjahr_." It is not uncommon in our woods. 2. The
good year of the Hartz, which has been acquired in the house, and
consists of two very singular strains, in my opinion not very
agreeable. Chaffinches are very rare now which sing this, united to
that of the wine song of Ruhl, or the sharp song, and their price is
consequently high. They are rarely found but at Ersenach and Ruhl.
7. _The Quakia song_ is so called from its last syllables, and is
double or single, one with one strain, the other with two. This song
was formerly very much admired. It was heard in the woods and house,
but it is now lost, as all the wild chaffinches that sung it have
been taken, and those in confinement have been taught in preference
the good wine song: I believe I possess the only bird that is now to
be found which sings this. To be admired, the quakia must be united
with the double trill. This my chaffinch sings also.
8. _The Pithia_ or _Trewethia_, is a very uncommon and agreeable
song, which is never heard but in the depths of the Thuringian
mountains. The bird-catchers of the villages about the forests of
Hesse seek for birds that possess it, and actively pursue the
songsters. It is first a sonorous strain, followed by several
repetitions of the word "_zack_." Some birds unite to it the common
sharp wine song, and are more valued. The last syllables ought to
sound "_trewididæ_."
These eight varieties, or rather melodies, are those most thought of
in Saxony and Hesse. I have said that some of them are heard in the
woods; but it is very rarely that they are sung with so clear and
strong a voice, or that they are so long and perfect. A chaffinch
that knows only one of these varieties generally sings it slowly, and
introduces a greater number of syllables. Its voice, in fact,
executes it with more strength and depth; if it adds to the last
strain the sound "_fink_," which our bird-catchers translate by
_amen_, it is of the highest value, no price will be taken for it.
There are a dozen varieties in all; but as they are not uncommon, and
what are everywhere heard, they are less admired; they have even been
given in contempt the name of _plain_.
One thing worth remarking is that the song of the chaffinch varies
almost as much as the countries it inhabits. It is not the same in
Thuringia as in the Hartz, and the taste of amateurs differs
equally[43]. In Austria several named melodies are admired, but I
have never heard them.
The chaffinch has so great a facility in learning, that it not only
imitates perfectly the song of another chaffinch near which it has
been placed from youth, but being hung near a nightingale or canary
it learns several parts of their songs, and would no doubt give them
completely if its larynx were so formed that it could render notes so
long and sustained; in fine, a great difference in memory is observed
in these birds, as well as in all others of the singing species. Some
require six months to learn an air that others catch on first
hearing, and can repeat almost immediately; these can scarcely retain
one of the songs given above; those can imitate three, four, and,
should you wish it, five different ones. There are also some that
cannot give one song without a fault, and we find others that will
add to it, perfect it, and embellish it.
One thing peculiar to chaffinches is the necessity of teaching them
their song every year, and this in the manner proper for them, during
the four or five weeks this exercise lasts. They first utter a
murmur, or weak warbling, to which they add at first, in an under
voice, one or two, and afterwards several syllables of their song;
they are then said to _record_. A chaffinch that takes only a week
or fortnight to repeat this lesson for fully bringing out its voice,
is reckoned among the geniuses of its species. It is known that other
birds whose power of singing is confined to a particular season, also
warble feebly, and mingle with their warbling some foreign notes,
especially harsh and confused sounds; but none produce sounds so
peculiar, and that have so little relation to their own song. If we
pay a little attention, however, we shall find that this exercise is
intended less to awaken the memory than to render the throat,
stiffened by a tolerably long state of inaction, more pliant, and to
bring back its natural flexibility.
Wild chaffinches, on their return in spring, do not delay to record;
those in the house soon learn, but they are obliged to exercise
themselves for nearly two months before they can execute their song
to perfection. The singing season does not generally extend beyond
June, but young chaffinches brought up in a room prolong it to
October, and sometimes later.
Some amateurs of the song, rather than friends of the bird, to
procure the pleasure of hearing it night and day in all its strength,
employ a very cruel and inhuman contrivance. They first place the
cage in a very obscure place, and accustom the poor little creature
to find its food in the dark; they then blind it, either by
destroying the pupils of the eyes with a red hot iron wire, or by
passing it over the edges of the eyelids, unite and paste them
completely together.
Others shut up these poor mutilated creatures in a cool place, almost
without air, during the summer, in order that when in autumn they are
brought to the window, and breathe the fresh air, they may express
their joy by their lively and repeated song. What can we think of the
heart and morals of people who for a slight amusement thus enjoy the
sufferings of a sensitive being that is unfortunately in their power?