THE TWITE 225 



from the lowlands in March and April, the bird is 

 not such an early breeder as the Linnet, and seldom 

 begins nest-building before May. Its breeding-places 

 are almost exclusively confined to the vast tracts 

 of heather and ling. The nest is generally placed 

 amongst the heath, only a few inches above the 

 ground, and very often upon the ground itself A 

 favourite spot is on the edge of a steep bank which 

 slopes down to a rough cart-road or sheep-track. 

 Occasionally it is found under a piece of turf, more 

 rarely still in a bush. It is made of fine twigs, grass- 

 stalks, moss, and roots, lined with finer roots, vege- 

 table down, wool and feathers, sometimes one kind 

 of material predominating, sometimes another, which- 

 ever chances to be most common in the locality. 

 It is a very artistic-looking little nest, very round 

 inside, rather deep, neatly finished, and the lining 

 wonderfully smooth. The eggs are from four to 

 six in number, pale bluish-green in ground-colour, 

 spotted and speckled, and occasionally streaked with 

 reddish-brown and grey. The Twite sits closely, 

 and when disturbed is often joined by its mate, the 

 two birds then flitting anxiously and restlessly to 

 and fro. But one brood is generally reared in the 

 season, and young and old appear to keep together 

 until they join into a larger flock for the winter. 



The food of the Twite consists of a great variety 

 of small seeds ; but in summer insects, especially 

 beetles, are sought. There can be no doubt that 



