264 NATURE NOTES. 
of the sprightly Siskin. They are feeding at present upon the 
tender opening buds of the Alder (Alnus glutinosa), which so 
prettily fringes the banks of our “ Crystal Jed.” 
The bright colours and “continuous twitter” of these 
lively birds attract the notice of even the least observant. 
The late Brotherston of Kelso, an experienced observer of 
bird life, says: “Redpolls during winter visit the birch 
woods near Penmanshiel to feed on the birch seeds, but they 
remain only a short time.” 
The movements of the Redpoll are very active and 
amusing, and its note is wondrously loud for so small a 
creature. Gero. Fyre, LL.D. 
MacpiE (Pica rustica) AT HAMMERFEST. 
ALL up the Norwegian coast I had noted this bird, but it 
came rather as a surprise to me to find a pair at Hammer- 
fest, 280 miles north of the Arctic circle, on 19th July 1899. 
There, on a bare, rocky, wind-swept island, without a tree 
three feet high on it, these birds seemed to thrive. They 
lived in the very centre of the town, which is scattered 
round the shores of the splendid bay. I discovered their 
nest at the flattened angle of a two-storied house over a 
shop-door. Two feet below the overhanging eaves an old 
flagstaff-holdfast projected, and here the bulky, domed nest 
had been built. It contained very few birch twigs, being 
mainly composed of wire, with here and there a few broken 
wooden barrel-hoops. 
The people of all Norwegian towns protect the Magpie. 
H. N. Bonar, M.B.O.U. 
Nestinc Hapits or THE ROOK (Corvus frugilegus). 
Durinc the last two years I have noticed the Rooks when 
building, instead of lifting sticks from the ground, engaged 
