Goldfinch, Or .....

[Outlaw Pete 2,224]

Just been up the track and happened to run into the Brothers Grim, motoring down it. Tommy's driving, so on my side when he pulls up and starts the pleasantries.

 

He's telling me how he's just bought a few more birds for his aviary. Foreign shit that means no more to me than his f**king budgies.

 

Then, he starts telling me he has a question for me. His tone indicated that this was obviously some, answer predetermined, riddle sort of thing.

 

I said to go for it. He asked me something very much to the effect of:

 

" What is the best song of any kind of finch to be found in Britain or Eire? "

 

Now, frankly? I don't really listen to birds much. My hearing is such that I can't even hear half of them anyway. And that sort of f**ks me off so I don't try.

 

So, only having the a minuscule bit of interest in his pointless f**king question anyway, I cast my mind back to this place and blurted that the Goldfinch seems very popular.

 

(Not that I can particularly ever recall myself being moved by it. I didn't bother to tell Tommy that though)

 

Then, he contradicted me with his own little challenge. " The Linnet! " He said.

 

And, f**k me! D'you know what? Just the other day there, as I worked my way through that entire site full of bird sounds, trying to find Clipo's mystery, I played myself a Linnet.

 

And it melted my f**king heart! A sound so evocative! So rare! It swept me back, instantly, to a time decades ago. When I'd see and hear linnets.

 

Now? Here ....? And, look at this place? Goldies. Bullies. Siskins. Redpolls? Two a penny. You're all breeding them by the flock. But, linnets ....?

 

And, do you know what? I don't know what the f**k Tommy's point was there. But, he had me. He was dead right!

 

I'd have to agree with him: The sweetest sound of any of our native finches has to be that of the humble linnet

 

[J Darcy 5,871]

They are not easy to get on the sticks, the young seem to be prone to dying from cocxy.......Males have to be colour fed or they never seem to get close to the colours of the wild males.....beauty bird though....

[Tiercel 6,986]

Just put this on in the background. Beautiful.

 

 

TC

[paulus 26]

accidentally sucked a cracking cock bird up the hover pipe, that's when i quit with birds in cages

[Outlaw Pete 2,224]

They are not easy to get on the sticks .....

 

To have that sound around me though, JD? Were I allowed to; I'd pay the rate.

 

Bad news that they're hard to get through. With some of the absolutely mind bending soft bills I see people breeding these days, ye'd think someone could sort out the linnet thing. Be dreadful to lose it to the fancy

[TUFFTY 1,484]

Old boy down the road used to have linnets and used to mule with borders.

 

He gave me a pair when my dad built me my first avairy for me 14th birthday.

 

Bloody hell, thats 30 odd years ago...

 

Oh my days.

 

That was quick.

 

Too fecking quick.....

[gnipper 6,978]

I managed to let my linnet cock out of the aviary last year and I was fecking gutted, he was a cracking steady bird who never shut up and was a brilliant muling bird. I thought I'd give him a break from muling so bought him a linnet hen to try and breed straight linnets and the vicous little sod scalped and killed her.

It's a shame they won't colour up like the wild ones do but their still a lovely bird to me. I'll try again breeding them one day.

[budharley 945]

I believe no one has quite worked out what makes them colour up like that in the wild it doesn't happen in captivity

[Outlaw Pete 2,224]

How about redpolls? I see a male bird here I'd give my last teeth to capture and photograph for ye. His whole front is just drenched in red! Looks like he's had a bottle of wine poured over him.

 

Do they colour well, captive bred?

[fireman 11,578]

They do colour and do colour better when colour fed than captive Linnets do.