Linnets (Linaria cannabina)
Dear Readers, these are quintessential farmland birds – I used to see them regularly in the fields around Milborne St Andrew in Dorset, where these photos were taken. Richard Crossley and Dominic Couzens describe them perfectly in the Crossley Guide:
“Flies with great freedom, with big undulations and twists and turns: flocks adhere closely”.
And yet there has been a marked decline in the breeding population of these birds, for the usual reasons: herbicide use, aggressive removal of scrubland and the grubbing out of hedgerows. The European population of the bird has dropped by 62% between 1980 to 2009, so goodness knows how it’s doing now.
This is a bird that, like the goldfinch, prefers tiny, oil-rich seeds. Unlike the goldfinch, however, it hasn’t made the move to garden feeders, and so some farmers are leaving weedy areas with the seeds of thistle and chickweed, shepherd’s purse and charlock for the linnets and other small finches to eat. This, coupled with leaving areas of bramble and scrub, may help to arrest the bird’s decline. I certainly hope so.
You might think that this is yet another ‘little brown job’, but look closer…
Linnet from the Crossley Guide
In her article on the linnet in ‘Into the Red’, Lucy Lapwing (who describes herself as ‘a nature nerd’, and well done to her) describes the colours of the linnet as:
“Marmalade and ginger. Rust and cinnamon. Salt-worn driftwood and Scots Pine bark at sunset. And then you get the males donning a soft pink cap and proud rose belly”.
And this is without listening to the bird. Here are Richard Crossley and Dominic Couzens again…
“Song a lively, fast series of twitters with periodic zooming off at a tangent, like experimental musician”.
See what you think….this recording is by Chèvremont Fabian in Luxembourg
What an extraordinary burst of energy! When I spotted the flock of linnets in Dorset it was that explosion of sound that attracted my attention in the first place.
Linnets were often kept as pet birds in days gone by. They have been memorialised by Blake and Wordsworth, Bridges and Burns, Emily Dickinson and Walter de la Mare. But honestly, does anything sum up the place of the linnet in the working-class home better than music hall favourite ‘Don’t Dilly-Dally on the Way’? And is anyone reading this old enough to remember ‘The Good Old Days’ on the TV, with Leonard Sachs as the Master of Ceremonies and everyone dressed in Victorian costume? Here are the lyrics of the song…
My old man said “Foller the van,
And don’t dilly dally on the way”.
Off went the van wiv me ‘ome packed in it,
I walked behind wiv me old cock linnet.
But I dillied and dallied, dallied and I dillied
Lost me way and don’t know where to roam.
Well you can’t trust a special like the old time coppers.
When you can’t find your way ‘ome.
Ah, the song of my people! Give me a shout if you need a translation. And let’s give thanks for the fact that keeping wild songbirds in cages is now illegal.
And if you want to see if in performance, here we go
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfW3TxQhy20
Little Brown Jobs are frequently ignored by all but dedicated birders. Funnily enough, I was looking at a pair of Grey-headed Sparrows at my feeder yesterday, while trying out a new pair of binoculars. I am in awe of their subtle colouring and the sheer beauty of an otherwise (from a normal distance) drab outfit.
I love binoculars, they really give you a chance to admire the subtlety of these less flamboyant birds.
Yes, I’m old enough to remember the Good Old Days (not that I watched it much). I always associate those old cockney songs with my dad, even though he was born in the west of London. He never did lose his southern twang, even though he lived ‘up north’ for the majority of his life.
My Nan used to love it. She used to love the wrestling that was on at 4 p.m. on a Saturday too. She was normally quite a calm woman, but not when Mick McManus was beating up her favourite, Les Kellett.
Or Jackie Pallo… 😊 I seem to recall Les feigning injury (looking more like a drunk) then magically stepping aside and catching poor Mick with some (supposedly) nasty looking chop or throw and pinning him down – then suddenly winning when all looked lost! I don’t ever recall Mick winning!!
Who was the one who used to do ballet? And later on there was Big Daddy and Giant Haystacks….And then there was the tag team. Ah, happy days, and all of it choreographed.
There are definite winners and losers in the bird stakes. I read that some species are booming but, as you highlight here, many are in steep decline and we need to act. I am surrounded by farmland and grassland but it seems that Corvids have done very well and strut around with an air of superiority, while the little birds- the skylarks, linnets, yellow hammers and lapwings, have all gone. A habitat that’s hard to replicate in a reserve or garden too.
So true, and most of the farmland birds don’t come to gardens to feed. Some farmers are getting with the programme, but a lot are not.
I’ve never seen a linnet (that I know of), but I was introduced to the name in The Children of Green Knowe, by L. M. Boston. Do you know it? I remember thinking what a beautiful name it was. It’s surprising how few birds are used as names, although flowers are common. I alway thought if I had a girl, I would name her Linnet.
What a lovely name that would be, and you have really gotten me thinking….I feel a blogpost on names inspired by the natural world coming on.
I had to look it up, it was Ricky Starr!
Of course it was! Now here’s another one – there were a pair of twins who did tag team, and they were always the ‘goodies’ against another tag team that played nasty, but I can’t remember the names of either. I do know that these bouts got Nan particularly excited.
I can’t remember the name of the wrestling twins and a Google search doesn’t seem to help either. Sorry!
I had a look and couldn’t find them either. Oh well.