NOTES. 187 



CROSSBILLS NESTING. 



In Suffolk and Norfolk. 

 On the 2nd and 3rd of April, 1910, 1 was in the neighbourhood 

 of Thetford, in the company of Mr. C. S. Meares and Mr. 

 P. B. Smyth, in the hope of seeing Crossbills, having heard 

 that they had been seen in the district. As we were 

 unusually fortunate in finding not only the birds, but many 

 nests, it may be worth while putting on record what we 

 actually saw. The birds themselves were by no means 

 conspicuous, but we soon found that they were distributed 

 in fair numbers all over the district. They were very partial 

 to the thin strips of fir trees which border the roads and 

 separate the fields, and which are quite a characteristic of 

 this district. 



In the course of about twenty-four hours we came upon 

 no less than twenty-three nests. Of these thirteen contained 

 either eggs or young — seven contained eggs, six young — 

 in all stages from fresh eggs to fledged birds. As far as could 

 be seen, no nest contained more than four eggs or young, 

 three being observed in several cases. From the remaining 

 nests the young had flown, some quite recently, the others 

 possibly a month previous to our visit. They were situated 

 at heights varying from seven to sixty feet from the ground, 

 mostly on the lateral branches of Scotch firs. One was 

 built in a similar situation in larch and, as the leaves had 

 not yet appeared, was very conspicuous. One other was 

 in a spruce tree placed close to the trunk. We noticed two 

 distinct types of nests. Perhaps the larger number were 

 composed of pine-twigs neatly woven together, with a lining 

 of hair, feathers and soft grass. In the other type the 

 foundation and outside of the nest was made of grass and 

 roots and showed no pine-twigs, being not unlike large nests 

 of the Linnet. The district worked was mostly in the county 

 of Suffolk, but close to the Norfolk border, and about one- 

 third of the nests were in the latter county. 



From this account it will be evident that a considerable 

 number of young were reared, and it will be interesting to 

 see if any of these stay to nest next spring. J. Beddall Smith. 



[Notes on the Crossbills nesting in this district appeared in 

 Vol. III., pp. 302 and 371-2.— Eds.] 

 In Surrey. 

 On April 28th, 1910, I found a Crossbill's nest in Surrey, 

 not far from Aldershot, which contained four fresh eggs. 

 The nest was in a pine tree, near tlie extremity of a branch, 

 about twenty feet from the ground. C. W. Colthrup. 



