48 BRITISH BIRDS' NESTS. 



on the back mixed with brown, producing a chest- 

 nut brown ; wing and tail feathers nearly uniform 

 dark brown ; vent and lower tail-coverts greyish- 

 white ; legs, toes, and claws dark brown. . . . 

 Young females, after their first striated dress, 

 acquire a greenish-yellow tint on the crown and 

 the lower parts of the body mixed with greyish- 

 brown ; the rump and upper tail-coverts of primrose 

 yellow tinged with green ; wings, tail, and legs as 

 in the male." 



A celebrated Continental authority, writing upon 

 the matter, says : "If the Crossbills are grey or 

 speckled, they are young ; if red, they are one year 

 old and have just moulted ; if carmine, they are 

 just about to moult for the second time ; if spotted 

 with red and yellow, they are two years old and in 

 full feather." 



Situation and Locality. On the branches of 

 Scotch and other fir-trees, sometimes quite close 

 to the bole or stem, at others some distance away 

 on a horizontal branch at heights varying from 

 twenty to forty feet from the ground. Generally 

 in plantations of cone-bearing trees over the 

 greater portion of England, Scotland, and in 

 Ireland, where suitable plantations are to be met 

 with. The bird is very sparsely distributed, and 

 uncertain in its patronisation of recognised breed- 

 ing haunts. It is most numerous in the central 

 counties of Scotland. 



Materials. Twigs, roots, coarse dead grass, lined 

 internally with finer grass, hairs, and feathers. It 

 is similar in construction and appearance to that 

 of the Greenfinch. 



Eggs. Four or five. White, sometimes faintly 

 tinged with pale blue, very sparingly speckled with 



