Goldfinch - 1894

Carduelis elegans

A common resident.

Still abundant, in spite of the persecution sustained from birdcatchers, who take great numbers in the autumn when the birds collect upon the coast. We have been informed that thirty-three dozen were caught at one time at Fishguard. Mr. Dix says : " I have seen as many as sixty or eighty in a flock in the autumn and winter, feeding upon the seeds of the grasses in the meadows." One summer we detected six nests in our grounds ; the raspberry canes and some old plum trees covered with lichens, in the kitchen garden, providing the favourite sites.

Mathew M.A. 1894, Birds of Pembrokeshire and it's Islands