46 A PRACTICAL HANDBOOK OF BRITISH BIRDS. 



Characters and allied forms. — C. c. japonicus (east Siberia, 

 Japan, China) and C. c. huvryi (north-west Africa) are paler or 

 duller and have less white on primaries, C. c. humii (Turkestan, 

 India) has yellowish under-parts. Enormous bill distinguishes 

 species. 



Field-characters. — ^Enormous bill and stout head, short tail 

 and white wing-patch, are outstanding features, Avhether bird at 

 rest or in flight. Usual note an explosive " psitt," shrill rather 

 than loud, but quite characteristic. Shy and retirmg, its presence 

 is often only revealed by shredded pea-pods, or split stones of 

 cherries, hoUy, whitethorn, and yew (and in last case terminal 

 twigs) beneath trees in which it has fed. 



BBEEDiNG-HABrrs. — Breeds chiefly in orchards and old wooded 

 gardens or woods, often buDding on horizontal branches of fruit- 

 trees, occasionally in forest-trees or thorn -bushes at varying 

 heights. Nest. — ^Layer of small twigs as foundation, generally 

 projecting on each side of branch ; nest itself slight and shalloi^^ 

 built of roots, lichens, bents, etc., and lined fine roots, hair, or 

 fibre. Eggs.—A-Q, generally 5 ; ground-colour light bluish or 

 grejdsh-green, sometimes pale slate or Marm buff, boldly but 

 sparsely spotted and streaked blackish-brown with faint grey under- 

 lying streaks. Average of 100 eggs, 23.8 X 17.2 mm. Breeding- 

 season. — Begins end April in south England, but about fortnight 

 later in north. Incubation. — ^Lasts 14 days ; chiefly performed by 

 female (Naumann). One brood. 



Food. — ^Kernels and seeds of many kinds (e.g. sloe, bird-cherry, 

 cherry, plum, bullace, yew, hawthorn, hornbeam, and laurel) ; 

 also green peas and beech-mast. Larvae of currant-moth are eaten 

 in June, and Naumann says young are fed on insects. 



Distribution. — England. — Resident. Local, but generally dis- 

 tributed except in north and west, where, however, has lately 

 increased and spread, and now breeds in Cumberland, Durham, 

 and Northumberland (since 1884). Rarely breeds in Devon, and 

 not in Cornwall. Wales. — Resident. Now well-known in eastern 

 half, but rare or unknown in western parts. Scotland. — Resident. 

 Now considered as widely distributed and not very rare in south- 

 east, and has nested East Lothian (1908 and 1909), West Lothian 

 (1911), and east Fife (1903) ; also bred Dumfries (1906 and 1908). 

 Elsewhere a good many stragglers, even as far north as Fair Isle 

 and Shetlands. Ireland. — Rare vagrant to all quarters, mostly 

 winter. Said to have nested Kildare 1902. 



Migrations. — British Isles. — ^No regular migrations yet worked 

 out, but occurs occasionally at lighthouses in England, Scotland 

 (even to extreme north of mainland), and Ireland, and has been 

 noticed in winter in parts where it does not breed. 



