NOTES. 49 



to be the case ; and it affords a good instance of one of many 

 such blunders to be met with in ornithological works. 



On May 3rd, while working much the same ground as on 

 April 9th (c/. Vol. III., p. 406) I found not sixty yards removed 

 from the tree where she had four young practically fledged 

 on April 15th, a female Crossbill sitting on four eggs. This 

 was in a road-side clump of Scotch firs ; her first attempt was 

 in a hedgerow tree. This nest was about fifteen feet from 

 the ground, and was difficult to reach, being, as it was, near 

 the extremity of a projecting and somewhat dependent 

 bough ; it was poorly and loosely composed, first of a few 

 conifer- twigs, then of moss and coarse and fine dried grass, 

 lined with fine shredded grass, with a small feather or so 

 round the rim. Tlie eggs — as I had remarked with the clutch 

 of five found chipping on April 15th, and have noticed with 

 another set of five found since — although not unlike Green- 

 finch's in coloration, were decidedly larger and bulkier than 

 that species, as indeed one would expect to be the case ; 

 moreover, the grain of the shell is much coarser with the 

 Crossbill. The spots in this particular set were, in the main, 

 evenly, albeit sparingly, distributed over the entire shell- 

 surface ; and some of the markings were very dark. The 

 male sang once or twice in the vicinity of the nest, but he did 

 not appear as I was examining it. 



On this day I saw flocks of Crossbills no longer ; merely 

 small parties of adults — from three to ten — and one or two 

 lots of fledged young ; I also found a nest of young just 

 ready to fly. This was in a fresh locality. 



On May 4th, visiting an area where I had found two lots 

 of young on April 15th, I met with both pairs of adults, one 

 with their progeny in an orchard, though the cock seemed to 

 do most of the " mothering." These young were ridiculously 

 tame ; indeed, although they could fly strongly, I all but 

 succeeded in catching one as it sat in an apple tree. One of 

 the adult pairs (whose young I could see no traces of in or out 

 of the nest) were very amorous, yet I could flnd no fresh nest. 



On May 11th, in much the same locality, I met with but 

 one lot of three adults ; otherwise pairs or single birds, and 

 beyond a nest — hitherto unfound — from which young had 

 obviously flown, I found nothing fresh. This nest was largely 

 felted with dried grass and many white feathers. 



On the 18th I saw but one pair of Crossbills, and an empty 

 nest in a typical position, which might have belonged to them. 

 But on the 25th I discovered a Crossbill's nest containing two 

 eggs (this afterwards held five), which belonged, I believe, 



