BULLFINCH, a finch of the genus Pyrrhula, especially the common European (Pyrrhula pyrrhula), bluish-grey and black above, and generally of a bright tile-red beneath, the female having its underparts chocolate-brown. It is a shy bird and frequents well wooded districts. In May it builds a shallow nest of twigs lined with fibrous roots on low trees or thick underwood, and lays four or five bluish-white eggs speckled and streaked with purple. The young remain with their parents during autumn and winter, and pair in spring. In spring and summer they feed on the buds of trees and bushes, thus doing considerable injury to orchards and gardens. In autumn and winter they feed on wild fruits and on seeds. The note of the bullfinch, in the wild state, is soft and pleasant, but low; it possesses great powers of imitation, and can be taught to whistle tunes. The bullfinch breeds in northern Europe, occurring in southern parts only as a winter visitor. It rarely breeds in captivity. Black plumage can be induced by feeding solely with hemp-seed. Other species are found in eastern Europe and Asia, and one which is native to southern and eastern Siberia (P. cassini) sometimes migrates to Alaska.