224 NUTCRACKER. 



elevated fir-woods in the south of that country: but upon these 

 points further information is- much to be desired. Its southward 

 migrations have extended to Sardinia and Sicily, but not as yet to 

 Greece or Turkey ; nor does it appear to be found in the Caucasus. 

 Eastward, it occurs throughout a great part of the forest region of 

 Siberia as far as Kamschatka ; also in the Kuril Islands, Japan, 

 Corea and Northern China. In Cashmere it is represented by the 

 closely-allied species A^. vwltipimctata, and in the Himalayas by the 

 larger and browner N. hemispila. Examples from Northern Asia 

 have the bill deeper from the angle of the gonys to the ridge of the 

 upper mandible than specimens from Europe, and it is almost 

 needless to add that they have been separated specifically or sub- 

 specifically by C. L. Brehm and others. 



In Europe the Nutcracker often begins to breed early in March, 

 while the forests are still difficult of access owing to the snow ; and 

 although eggs were obtained in the French Alps by the late Abbe 

 Caire in 1846, it was not until after 1862 that English ornithologists 

 became acquainted with them. The rather bulky nest is placed 

 from fifteen to thirty feet from the ground in a pine-tree, close to 

 the stem : and is composed of twigs, with grass, roots, and a little 

 moss and lichen for a lining. Sometimes the bird will sit upon only 

 two eggs, but 4-5 are usual ; they are pale bluish-green, spotted with 

 ash-brown, like some light varieties of those of the Magpie : average 

 measurements i'3 by -95 in. In Arctic Siberia the Nutcracker 

 does not appear to breed before the middle of June, for Mr. See- 

 bohm, who found it absurdly tame on the Yenesei — allowing of close 

 approach, and congregating upon bushes round the houses and on 

 the rigging of his ship, for scraps of meat and refuse — noticed 

 that it remained until the 7th of the above month ; after which 

 it was not seen until August. The seeds of fir-cones are is 

 favourite food, especially those of the arolla pine {Pinus cemhrd) in 

 Switzerland, but the bird is almost omnivorous. Its flight is slow 

 and undulating ; the note is a grating kr, kr-, kr. 



The adult male is umber-brown above and below, profusely spotted 

 with drop-shaped white markings on the back and breast, and more 

 sparingly on the throat ; wing-feathers glossy black ; tail-feathers 

 greenish-black, with broad white tips to all except the central pair ; 

 under tail-coverts white ; bill and legs black. Length about 12 in. ; 

 wing 7 "5 in. The female generally shows a rather browner tint on 

 the wing-feathers. The nestling is dull dirty brown with small grey- 

 ish-white spots ; the quill-feathers have a brownish tint, and the 

 under tail-coverts are dusky. 



