234 Appendix. 



and the Islands of the Polar Sea." Mr. Yarrell says, **The nest is 

 composed of dry grass, neatly lined with deers hair and a few 

 feathers, and is generally fixed in a crevice of a rock, or in a loose 

 pile of timber or stones. The eggs are a greenish white, with a 

 circle of irregular umber-bro^vn spots round the thick end, and 

 numerous blotches of subdued lavender purple." 



MOUNTAIN FINCH. 



This Finch is occasionally met with in sufficient numbers to be 

 deserving of a short notice here. It seems to breed in Denmark, 

 Norway, and Lapland, and it is at least possible that a few pairs 

 may, from time to time, stay to nest with us. It is said to build in 

 fir-trees, though from Mr. Hewitson's account, the nests are by no 

 means easy to find. The following is an account of a nest made by 

 a pair in an aviary at Beccles in Suffolk : — ** The nest was deep, the 

 walls thick, a large quantity of materials employed for the founda- 

 tion, which was worked among the stalks of the ivy-leaves. It was 

 composed of moss, wool, and dry grass ; and lined with hair." The 

 general appearance of the eggs is one of resemblance to those of the 

 Chaffinch ; the spots, however, seeming to bo fewer, smaller, and 

 less decided. 



SISKIN. 



This little bird has been known in several instances to breed with 

 us in its natural wild condition, but its nesting-home is in Russia, 

 Germany, and North- Western Europe. It has been ascertained to 

 build in furze bushes, and also close to the trunk of a fir-tree, where 

 a projecting bough afforded support for the structure. The nest is 

 composed of similar materials to the Chaffinch's, and the eggs present 

 a good deal of resemblance to those of the Goldfinch, with a little 

 inferiority iu size. 



