364 BRITISH BIRDS. 



I do not think attention has been called to the beautiful 

 manner in which the nests are concealed from above by 

 branchlets of the tree ; indeed, in some cases, it is almost 

 impossible to see the nest until these are drawn to one side. 



Subsequently, seventeen more nests were found in the 

 locality, and some of these I have personally inspected. All 

 were in Scotch pine at a height of eight to fifty feet from 

 the ground, and all were in typical positions. The details 

 ace as follow : — March 26th, one with two eggs both sucked, 

 one witn four eggs, three broken, dead female on nest ; 

 March 29th, one with three fresh eggs; April 5th, one with 

 three young ; April 11th, one with four fresh eggs, one with 

 four eggs, incubation commenced ; April 12th, one with three 

 eggs, incubation advanced ; April 13th, one with four eggs, 

 incubation commenced ; April 15th, one with four eggs, 

 incubation commenced, one building ; April 16th, three 

 with four fresh eggs, two with three eggs, incubation com- 

 menced, one building, one ready for eggs but apparently 

 forsaken. 



On this date a flock of seven birds was seen, and this was 

 the most considerable number of birds seen together during 

 the course of these observations. 



So far as this locality is concerned, judging by the conversa- 

 tion I have had with a particularly intelhgent set of keepers, 

 I feel, in my own mind, confident that Crossbills breed here 

 every year. Many of these keepers are certain that they are 

 here all the year round, year after j^ear, and, to use the words 

 of one of the oldest keepers on the estate, " These 'ere early 

 Green Linnets nestes I have know'd the last forty year." 

 They have, no doubt, been overlooked owing to the very early 

 date at which they breed. P. F. Bunyard. 



In Norfolk. 



During February and March, Mr. A. H. Meiklejohn and I 

 paid several visits to a district about four miles from Thetford 

 in which Crossbills nested in 1910, in order to discover whether 

 they Avould do so again this year. 



Our search was confined to quite a small tract of country — 

 about half a square mile in extent — and resulted in the finding 

 of eight nests. Of these, one (the first nest found, February 

 19th) contained two newly-hatched young and one egg, one 

 two eggs (March 8th, another egg having been blown out of the 

 nest on March 1st), one three eggs (March 25th), three, four 

 eggs (March 19th, 22nd and 31st), whilst two other nests were 

 being built (March 26th and 31st). The weather during the 



