55 



the Inner Hebrides it is local, but nests in a few localities, and is common 

 in the Orkneys, On the Scottish mainland north of the Great Glen it is 

 scarce and local, and entirely absent from a great part of Ross, Sutherland 

 and Caithness, but is common locally in the Moray Basin. In Ireland it 

 is very common, breeding in all the open districts and many of the islands. 



In Norway it is common in the south and breeds sparingly in the ^°^- 



•^ . tinental 



Bergen and Trondhjem dioceses up to lat. 63° N., and generally m southern Europe, 

 and middle Sweden to about 61° — 62°. Wheelwright met with the birds 

 at Quickjock, but failed to find nests, and in E. Russia it is absent from 

 the greater part of the country north of lat. 60°. Over the rest of Europe 

 it is locally common in suitable localities, but the exact limits of the 

 typical and the Mediterranean races are not yet clearly defined. 



Wherever the ground is overgrown with furze bushes, brambles, black- Nest. 

 thorn or low scrub, the Linnet is pretfcy certain to be found breeding. 

 Plantations of young trees where there is plenty of undergrowth and 

 hedgerows are also favourite sites. Sometimes the nests are found in 

 considerable numbers within a short distance of one another, so that, like 

 the Greenfinch, it may almost be said to breed at times in colonies. As 

 Dr. Rey has pointed out, the Linnet breeds indifferently on the hills and 

 in the plains, in sand dunes or in swamps. 



The nest is neatly and solidly built of grass stalks, roots, moss, etc., 

 and sometimes a few fine twigs or bits of heath, warmly lined with hair, 

 wool, plant-down or feathers: while Rey mentions cases where strips of 

 cloth, string and even coloured silks have been found interwoven. Dimensions 

 in inches: diameter about 3^ height 2; breadth of cup 2}, depth If. 

 It is usually found a yard or two from the ground, less commonly 3 — 4 

 yards high, but has been met with in tussocks on sand-dunes, in heather, 

 on the bare earth in Scandinavia (Ottosson), among grass in Germany (Rey), 

 among moss on rocks in the Alps (Bailly) and even in a potato or broccoli 

 plant! In Germany the nest is also frequently found in the 'hedges' of dead 

 branches by which the sand dunes are kept from drifting, as well as in 

 turf stacks and heaps of cut wood (Hartert). 



Usually 4 — 5, sometimes 6, while 7 have occasionally been found. Eggs. 

 Two (possibly sometimes three) broods are raised in the season. The eggs 

 show considerable variation in size, shape and colouring. Sometimes the 

 ground colour is a clear light blue with a slight tinge of green, at other 

 times it is bluish or French white; while the markings consist generally of 

 spots of purplish red, congregated round the large end, and underlying 

 spots or blotches of paler red or violet. Eggs entirely without markings 

 are found both with white and blue ground; and one variety is profusely 

 speckled with reddish, like the egg of the Spotted Flycatcher. Large 

 specimens exceed the minimum size of Greenfinch eggs. 



