FRfNGirXIN.I^. 



thp: brambling. 



Fringilla MOXTiFRiNGiLLA, Liniiseus. 



This species is a tolerably regular autumn- and winter-visitor 

 to many parts of Scotland, and migrants from Scandinavia may 

 be found in small parties among the Highland glens long before 

 their arrival is noticed in England, where their presence and relative 

 abundance depend upon the severity of the weatlier on the Con- 

 tinent. In hard winters the Brambling — or Mountain-B'inch as it 

 is sometimes called — is very numerous, especially in the vicinity of 

 beech-woods ; but in other years it is not noticed, and in Cornwall 

 and the west its appearance is very uncertain. By the middle of 

 March almost all have returned to their northern breeding-grounds, 

 but exceptionally a few pairs have been known to remain behind ; 

 and Mr. E. T. Booth states that in June 1866, while fishing in the 

 river Lyon, Perthshire, he had occasion to climb a beech-tree to 

 disentangle his line, when he disturbed a female Brambling from her 

 nest with three eggs. To Ireland this bird's visits are very irregular, 

 and it is little known there, but at long intervals large flocks have 



