Page:VCH Suffolk 1.djvu/224

 A HISTORY OF SUFFOLK evicts them from their nests and takes pos- session. Gilbert White of Selborne seems to have been the first to notice this, as he writes : ' When the house - sparrows deprive my martins of their nests, as soon as I cause one to be shot, the other, be it cock or hen, presently procures a mate, and so on for several times following.' Young martins, doubtless the third brood, are sometimes seen in the nest as late as October. 58. Sand-Martin. Cotile riparia (Linn.) Locally, Pit-Martin. Also a summer migrant, arriving before the swallow, and breeding in large colonies in gravel-pits and sand-pits, also in the sides of railway cuttings. Near Brandon it has been known to excavate its nesting-holes in a very large heap of sawdust (F. Norgate). 59. Greenfinch. Ligurinus chloris, Linn. Locally, Green Linnet. A common resident, breeding everywhere^ and congregating in large flocks during the winter on stubbles and in stack-yards. 60. Hawfinch. Coccothraustes vulgaris, Pallas. A resident, not uncommon, and perhaps breeding more numerously in the vicinity of Bury than in any other part of the county. The nest, much resembling that of the bull- finch, but larger, and always containing more or less grey lichen, is usually found in thorns, apple trees, or on the branches of firs at some distance from the trunk. Few eggs are more beautiful when fresh, but the delicate tints of olive and purple soon disappear when they are blown. The hawfinch is easily recognized when flying by the display of white on the wings and tail, and is a troublesome bird in kitchen gardens, where (as an old gardener used to say), ' they play hack wi' the peas.' This bird sometimes comes quite up to a house for food, and at Tostock a few years ago a fine old male was killed by a cat close to the front door of the rectory, but too much damaged to be of any use as a specimen. 61. Goldfinch. Carduelis elegans, Stephens. Locally, King Harry, Redcap and Thistle Finch. This lovely little bird is a resident, though less common than it used to be. Being much in request as a cage-bird many are taken by bird-catchers and many nests robbed of the joung. 62. Siskin. Carduelis spinus (Linn.) A winter migrant, usually frequenting alder trees. In the summer of 1902 the siskin was observed in west Suffolk under circumstances which suggest that it may have bred. 63. Serin Finch. Serinus hortulanus, K. L. Koch. A very rare summer visitant, which has only occurred two or three times. In colour- ing and size it is not unlike the siskin, but has a stouter bill, and is never likely to be met with in the winter. 64. House-Sparrow. Passer domesticus (Linn.) A too common resident, which might be numbered among the ' extinct breeders ' with- out causing general regret. Destructive alike in gardens and cornfields, blocking up troughs with its untidy nest, doing much damage to thatch, and (as before stated) the enemy of the martin, there is little to be said in its fiivour. ' Introduced, like the rabbit, through officious ignorance, in Australia, New Zealand and the United States, it has become such a curse that special legislation has been loudly invoked for its destruction ' (Saunders' Manual, p. 180). The only methods of reducing the numbers of the sparrow without the destruc- tion of other birds seem to be by netting it in stacks and ivy, and by taking every nest which can be got at when the young are hatched, not when there are eggs. The use of poisoned grain is illegal, and also attended with serious risks not only to other birds, but also to poultry, pigs and cats ; while if a shot is fired into the great flocks of birds which assemble in stack-yards in hard weather after corn has been thrashed out, robins, tits and other harmless birds will usually be killed with the sparrows. Birds like the hedge- sparrow, whose usual food consists of insects, will often pick up grain in the winter, possibly for purposes of digestion as well as for food. The house-sparrow often builds in colonies in the branches of trees, and when these are bare in winter the nests convey the idea of a small rookery. 65. Tree-Sparrow. Passer montanus (Linn.) A pretty little resident, as harmless as its larger relative is destructive. In addition to those which breed here, many tree-sparrows come ' over the water ' to the east coast in autumn. The nest is usually built in holes of trees, and has often been found in a nest- box. Fresh eggs have been found as late as August, and a clutch nearly always contains an 'odd egg' very lightly marked in compari- son with the others. A cross between this bird and the house-sparrow was shot in a farm-yard at Tostock in 1894, whicii was 186