56 



Breeding I^i England the eggs of the first brood are generally laid from mid- 



Season. April to early May, and the second in June or even July; while in Ireland 



Ussher has found eggs from May to July, and in Germany Rey has taken 



them between April 25 and August 15. In Greece Kriiper says they lay 



from mid- April onwards, but in the south some birds evidently breed very 



early, as Fuhrer saw fledged young on April 21 in Montenegro. In Finland 



not before Mid-May. Incubation is chiefly, but not solely, performed by 



the hen, and the eggs are hatched on the 14th day from the laying of the 



last egg (Evans). 



Measure- Average of 100 eggs from England and the Continent (80 by Rey 



ments. and 20 by the Avriter) 18.12 X 13.10 mm.. Max. 20.3 X 14 mm., Min. 



14.7 X 13.4 and 16 X 12 mm. Average weight (80 eggs) 98 mg. (Rey). 



9 full eggs average 1.631 g. (Foster). Fatio has a dwarf egg 9 X 6.5 mm. 



Geographical Races. 



a. Common Linnet, C. cannaMna cannabina (L.). See above. 



b. Mediterranean Linnet, C. cannabina mediterranea (Tsch.). 



Acanthis cannabina mediterranea Tsch. Hartert, Vog. Pal. Fauna, p. 75. 



Breeding Range: The northern shores of the Mediterranean, Dal- 

 matia, S. Italy, S. Spain, etc. The exact limits of this and the typical 

 race are not clearly defined. In S. Spain great numbers nest in April. 



[In the Canaries, Madeira and N. W. Africa the resident form is 

 C. c. nana (Tsch.). 11 eggs from Tenerife average 16.62 X 12.89 mm., 

 and are decidedly smaller as a rule than eggs of the typical form. From 

 the Caucasus and Asia Minor eastward C. c. fringillirostris (Bp. & Schl.) 

 is found. Average of 4 eggs from near Smyrna, 1 9.5 X 14.1 mm. (Coll. Selous).] 



22. Twite, Carduelis flavirostris (L.). 



Plate 11, fig. 6—10 (Broadstone, Yorks, 16—20, VI, 80). 



Eggs: Thienemann, Fortpfl., Tab. XXXV, fig. 11, a— c. Hewitson, 

 I. Ed. I, pi. XCVI, fig. 3; n. Ed. I, pi. XLV, fig. 3; III. Ed. I, pi. LI, 

 fig. 3. Baedeker, Tab. 20, fig. 14. Seebohm, Brit. Birds, pi. 13; id. Col. 

 Fig., pi. 57. Frohawk, Br. Birds, II, pi. V, fig. 172 — 173. 



Nest: Kearton, Brit. Birds' Nests, p. 315. 



British Local Names: Mountain, Orey or Moor Linnet. Scotland: 

 Heather, Hill or Yellow neb Lintie. 



Foreign Names: Bohemia: Jirice liorni. Denmark: Bjergirisk^ 

 Moirisk, Bjergfinke. Finland: Keltanokka hemjjpo. France: Linotte de mon- 

 tagne or a bee jaune. Germany: Berglidnfling. Helgoland: Road-ejedhssed. 

 Holland: Fratertje. Hungary: Teli kenderike. Italy: Funello nordico. Nor- 



