SISKINS. 



97 



in breeding it successfully in their biid-ruoms. Dr. 

 Russ says thiit it was tinst imfiorted by Karl Hagen- 

 beck under the nam«> of " Little Cardinid," and subse- 

 quently .single specimens or pairs reached Chr. Hagen- 

 beck. Jauiracb, Bekenians, and otheiis. 



Mr. Heer thus describes his success in breeding the 

 species : — " The feuiuie only laid two eggs,* but hatched 

 out both, and both l.id already successfully l««ft th« 

 nest when one which wiis already recognisable as a nial<! 

 lost its life bj' an unfortunate accident. The other 

 youngster, a female, is Hyini; strongly alx)ut the bird- 

 room, and is almost a.s large and vigorou.s as the old 

 birds. The Hlaok headed Siskins ((Jerniaji name, but 

 already applicable to anothei- species) had driven a 

 pair of Zebra-hnches out of their nest 1m)X. upon the 

 nest of which, coiit-^iining five eggs, they built a new 

 one, and then hatched tlieir two young. I discovered 

 thi.« on examination of the nest after the young had 

 flown. 



"The pair lived, in like manner to their allies, the 

 whole year througli in a palpably conjugal relationship, 

 so that the pair, though not appearing to trouble uiuih 

 about one another, yet always remained near together. 

 At the approach of the nesting season, in July in my 

 bird-mom, the male began to show great affection, as 

 he fed the female from the crop, and .always followed 

 her clotely. The latter collected threads and stalks into 

 an o[>en nest-liox . . . and formed a flat cavity, 

 chiefly of wadding, linen threads, and cowhair. The 

 clutch consisted once of three and the second time of 

 four c;,'_'s. In the first brnod, however, she only brought 

 up two young, and in the second only Dne. These 

 broods must lie the only ones, up to the present time, 

 which have been recorded, as the bird so far occurs 

 in few collections." 



And what a poor record it is ! The eggs arc not de- 

 scribed, the duration of incubation is not indicated, 

 the nestling phimn^e is not noticed. t 



Mr. Astley has published an amusing account of the 

 Hoodixl Siskin, illustrated by a coloured drawing, in 

 The Aviniltural Magazine. 2nd series, Vol. I., pp. 47- 

 51. 



In 1906 Captain Pam and others brought home five 

 examples of this specie.s, two of which were presented 

 to the Ij<indon Zoological Gardens and the others de- 

 posited there. If London dealers would take the 

 trouble, doubtless they could secure plenty of specimens. 

 In 1877 Miss Hagenbeck is said to have exhibited several 

 pail's at a breeders' society in Hamburg. 



Pine Si.skin [Chrji'^omitria ptnus). 



Above brownish olive; every feather wiith blackish 

 centre ; median coverts, blackish brown tipped with 

 white, greater coverts with yellowish-white ; flights and 

 tail-feathers blackish-brown, mjre or less yellow at base 

 and with the outer e<lges yellowish-green and their 

 inner etiges yellow ; ear-coverts brown ; remainder of 

 sides of head and under surface whitish with dusky 

 .streaks, excepting on centre of abdomen and thighs ; 

 under wing-coverts and axillaries yellowish white; 

 flights below dusky, edged with yellowish, brighter 

 yellow towards base; beak, feet, and irides brown. 

 Female similar, but yellower and less strongly streaked 

 on the under parts. Habitat, North America, wintering 

 in Mexico. 



.1. G. Cooner (" Om. Calif.," Vol. I., p. 172) says :— 

 " They are found both among the coniferous trees and 

 tho.«e that are deciduous, feeding on the .seeds of 



* Sul>sefni(?nt!y we discover that she laid three, but only 

 notched two. 



t Dr. Riiss, however, gives the following description of the 

 r??:— 8h;i|)r< oval; colour delicate bluisli or greenish white, 

 tiiie!y dottid with red-brown. Length 14 mm., breadth 11 mm. 



spruces, alders, willows, and juniper-berries." Gentry 

 states that the wild life corresponds with that of other 

 Siskins, including the European species, but its flight 

 and actions more nearly resemble those of the Purple 

 Rose-finch. The call-note is a sharp penetrating swiirr 

 or zirr, which it utters during flight. 



Audubon says that the song is soft, varied, and 

 melodious, and to some extent resembles that of the 

 American Siskin. Its food consists of the seeds of 

 grasses and other plants, and in the autimm of juniper 

 berries, coniferous and other seeds, and in spring, espe- 

 cially when hatching, of plant-lice and other insects, also 

 all kinds of tree-buds and shoots of conifers. 



According to Brewer, the breetling season is in May; 

 the nest is fonned of fibres, rootlets, stalks, and grasses, 

 and neatly line<l inside with hairs aiul wo<jl. The clutch 

 consists of four longish-oval eggs of a pale green colour, 

 marked especially at the large end with bright rust- 

 colour. 



Russ ret-eived a single specimen of this Siskin from 

 Moller, of Hamburg, in 1877, but it has always been rare 

 in the trade. In 1907 the Ixmdon Zoological Society 

 received four examples as part of an exchange with the 

 New York Zoological Park. 



ToTTA OR South Africwn Siskin (Chru^'imitris tdlla). 



Above chocolate, the back with indiratiions of darker 

 centres to the feathers ; rump olive-yellow ; upper tail- 

 coverts brown, with darker centres and whitish edges ; 

 tail black tipped with white ; wing-coverts chocolate ; 

 flights brown, externally black, with a subterminal 

 black marking and white tips; crown olive-yellow ; lores 

 grey ; sides of face and ear-coverts grey with an olive 

 tinge; cheeks olive-yellow with brown streaks; under 

 surface olive-yellow ; the throat sometmies with a few 

 dusky spots; sides, flanks, and thighs washed with 

 brownish ; axillaries and under wing-coverts greyish- 

 yellow ; beak pale brown, feet and irides brown. Female 

 generally browner and leiss yellow, the crown chocolate 

 streaked with blackish; throat and upper breast greyish 

 brown with a yellowish wash and dusky spots. Habitat, 

 Cape Colony. 



Messrs. Stark and Sclater {" Birds of South Africa," 

 Vol. I., p. 182) give the following account of the habits 

 of this Siskin : — " Although by Dr. Sharpe .separated 

 from the Canaries (Serinu.i). and placed with the Siskins 

 (Chri/.tomitris), this little bird resembles the former in 

 its habits, and when kept in confinement readily inter- 

 breeds with the Cape Canary (,S'. canirollis). The song, 

 although of a certain merit, does not equal that of the 

 Cape Canary in tone or quality. 



"It is of somewhat local distribution, abundant in 

 certain localities and quite absent from others appa- 

 rently etjually well adapted to its habits. It may be 

 often met with on bush-covered hillsides, and appears to 

 prefer hilly to more level ground. It feeds on small 

 seeds, buds of trees, and insects. The nest is placed in 

 a bush from two to four feet above the ground, and is 

 built of gra.--s-stems, small rootlets, and pliant twi^s, 

 lined with down and occasionally a few hairs. The 

 eggs are four or five in number, pale bluish-green 

 snaringly spotted and sometimes zoned with reddish- 

 brown of two shades. They average 0.72 by 0.54." 



Of late years this has not been an especially rare bird 

 in the trade, and a fair numlier of specimens have ap- 

 peared at our shows : I have not been tempted to pur- 

 chase it my.self, but have had it sent to me in the flesh 

 for identification. In appearance I consider it one of 

 the least attractive of the Siskins. 



DhSKUT Teumpkter Bullfinch {Eri/lhrospiza 

 tjilhagiiiea). 



The upper parts of the male mostly ashy brown, with 

 narrow rosy edges to the feathers, but the rump and 



