48 THE BIRDS OF CUMBERLAND, 



leaving her companions and slipping away to work 

 at her nest, returning to the party after a short 

 interval. Whilst the female, which is very fearless, 

 is sitting, the male bird is constantly in attendance 

 in the vicinity, and may be seen executing circular 

 flights at a considerable height, as he trills forth his 

 short love-song on the wing. 



In autumn, many of our breeding Redpolls ap- 

 pear to leave us, their place being to some extent 

 replaced by a larger race, with longer wings, which 

 no doubt visits us from more northern breeding 

 grounds. Old males exhibiting the crimson nuptial 

 breast occur occasionally in autumn. 



The young in nest dress are more striated than 

 adults. 



A male hybrid between the Lesser Redpoll 

 and Bullfinch, which exhibited the most marked 

 characteristics of its origin, was recently living in 

 the possession of Mr. Scott of Carlisle. It had 

 been produced in confinement. 



L. Flavirostris. Twite. 



The Twite is a resident bird, nesting freely on 

 the low-lying mosses, and also on the fells, but is 

 rather local in its preferences. Mr. Hodgson con- 

 siders that its numbers have decreased in the county 

 generally during the last thirty years. 



The nest is generally built in heather, where the 

 ground is broken and dispersed with pools of peaty 

 water, usually composed of sprigs of heath, lined 

 with hair, wool, and feathers ; but a nest which we 

 examined on Solway Moss, in June, 1884, containing 



