SISKIN 



ABERDEVINE. 



PLATE LXXXVII. 



Fringilla spinus, . ..'.'. LINNAEUS. 

 Carduelis spinus, . . . . ' . MACGILLIVRAY. 



THE nest is placed in trees, at only a short or moderate 

 height from the ground, about from five to eight feet or 

 so, or near the top of a spruce fir, and is composed of stalks 

 of grass, small roots and fibres, moss and lichens, lined with 

 hair, rabbits' fur, thistle-down, wool, or a few feathers, but 

 these last not as a rule. It is sometimes a furze bush within 

 a few feet of the ground, or in trees, when firs or birches are 

 usually selected. 



The eggs are usually five in number, pale greenish or 

 bluish white, spotted around the thicker end with dull lilac 

 and a few reddish brown dots. 



There are generally two broods in the season. Incubation 

 lasts fourteen days ; the young are fledged and are able to 

 leave the nest at the end of the third week. 



The Siskin has been known to build and breed in 

 confinement. Mr. Hewitson figures an egg which was laid, 

 together with three others, by a hen bird which had been 

 kept three years in a cage. 



The Siskin nests most frequently in North Britain, 



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