SISKIN. 



ABERDEVINE. 



PLATE LXXXVII. 



CardufJiis spinus, MACOILLIVHAY. 



FringiUa spinm, LIJTN^US. LATHAM. 



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

 the ground, and is composed of stalks of grass, and small roots and 

 fibres, moss and lichens, lined with hair, rabbits' fur, thistle-down, wool, 

 or a few feathers. Bushes are also occasionally built in. 



The eggs are pale greenish white, spotted around the thicker end 

 with purple, and a few brown dots. 



Incubation lasts fourteen days; the young are fledged in fifteen more, 

 and are able to leave the nest at the end of the third week. 



Thieneman figures the following: 



One of a greenish grey, with a few red spots at the broad end, and 

 a thick black streak. 



A second of a very light green, marked with a few small pale 

 yellowish brown spots at the broad end. 



A third of a greenish grey, marked with a few small and some 

 larger red spots. 



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. 



It appears to nidificate most frequently in North Britain, though 

 instances have also occurred in the extreme south, that is to say, in 

 the neighbourhood of London. 



