FRINGILLIN.E. 



193 





THE TWITE. 



LiNOTA flavir6stris (Linnceus). 



The Twite, or Mountain-Linnet as it is often called, may be 

 distinguished from the Redpolls by its longer tail, more slender 

 appearance, and the absence of any crimson tint on the head or 

 breast. During the breeding-season it is an inhabitant of most of 

 our moorlands from the Midlands northward, and, although more 

 frequent in the hilly districts, it nests at the lower level of the 

 mosses in Lancashire and elsewhere ; it is, however, rather local, 

 and only a few pairs seem to breed in the Lake district. Li 

 Cumberland it has, for some unaccountable reason, decreased 

 during the last thirty years. On the mainland of Scotland the 

 " Hill-Lintie" or "Yellow-neb Lintie," as it is called, becomes more 

 abundant, especially where there is a sufficiency of long rank 

 heather ; while in the neighbourhood of the shore, on the long arms 

 of the sea so numerous on the west coast, as well as in the 

 Hebrides, Orkneys and Shetlands it is resident and numerous. In 

 Ireland it breeds commonly on the mountains, and especially on 

 the elevated coast, from Waterford in the south to Donegal in 

 the north. On the approach of cold weather the higher districts 

 are abandoned, and flocks, which gradually increase, descend to 

 the sea-shore and spread themselves over the country, large numbers 

 occurring on the Lincolnshire coast in the first half of October ; 

 but in the south and east of England their appearance is somewhat 

 irregular, while in Cornwall the species is, like the Lesser Redpoll, 



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