THE BIRD-LIFE OF LONDON 
assuming a variety of grotesque attitudes, the twittering 
call-notes being uttered at intervals. ‘The food of this 
species, in addition to small seeds, consists of buds and 
insects and larve, the latter forming the staple sustenance 
of the young. During the non-breeding season the bird 
lives more or less in flocks, and their appearance in any 
locality is very erratic. ‘The Siskin is reported as having 
bred in the counties of Kent, Surrey, and Middlesex, 
so that a look-out for it should be kept within the London 
radius. Eggs for the first broods are laid in April, for 
the second in June. Its favourite nesting-place is a fir- 
tree, some thirty or forty feet from the ground. ‘The nest 
is made of fine twigs, grass stalks, and roots, lined with 
moss, hair, down, and less frequently feathers, and is 
similar to that of the Greenfinch, but smaller. ‘The 
five or six eggs are very pale bluish green, spotted and 
speckled with dark reddish brown and pale grey, occa- 
sionally streaked with even darker brown. I may add 
that during the breeding season the male has a short, 
twittering, yet musical and pleasing little song. 
The adult male Siskin has the head and throat black, 
the back yellowish green streaked with dusky black, the 
rump yellower; the under parts below the throat are 
yellow, palest on the abdomen and darkest on the flanks, 
which are streaked with black; the wings and tail are 
black marked with yellow. Bill brown, paler at the base ; 
tarsi and toes pale brown; irides brown. Length 44 
inches. ‘The female is similar to the male in general 
coloration, but is rather duller, and wants the black on 
the head and throat, a characteristic also of the nestling. 
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