38 THE NESTS AND EGGS OF BRTTISH BIRDS. 



the spots are displayed on the large end of the egg, 

 where they often form a zone. A few long streaks or 

 lines occasionally occur ; and sometimes the eggs are 

 almost devoid of markings. Average measurement, 

 '66 inch in length, by '5 inch in breadth. Incubation, 

 performed chiefly by the female, lasts fourteen days. 



Diagnostic characters : It is impossible to dis- 

 tinguish with certainty the eggs of the Goldfinch from 

 those of the Siskin, but the locality of the nest is 

 invariably different. From eggs of the Linnet and 

 Greenfinch they may be usually separated by their 

 smaller size, and from the latter by their smaller and 

 more clearly-defined markings. 



Family FRINGILLTD.E. Genus Fringilla. 



Sub-family FRINGILLIN.-E. 



SISKIN. 



Fringilla spinus, Lmiimis. 



Double Brooded. Laying season, April to June. 



British breeding area : The Siskin is decidedly 

 a northern species, and can only be regarded as breeding 

 exceptionally in England. Instances are recorded of its 

 having bred in Dorset, Sussex, Kent, Surrey, Middlesex, 

 Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire, Bedfordshire, Derbyshire, 

 Denbigh, Yorkshire, Westmoreland, Cumberland, and 

 Durham. North of the border it becomes a more 

 common bird, and breeds in many localities suited to its 

 requirements, especially from Perthshire northwards to 

 Suthcrlandshire and Caithness, although chiefly in the 

 eastern districts ; but it is said to breed in Argyllshire, 

 In Ireland its chief breeding area is in the eastern 

 counties, in Antrim, Down, Wicklow, and Waterford, 



