SUSSEX CROSSBILLS 47 



what alike (though the Greenfinches' home seldom 

 exhibits anything like so marked a platform founda- 

 tion of twigs, while the " egg-cup" is perceptibly 

 smaller and neater generally), the nest, too, often 

 being in the same position in a fir, but the females 

 of both kinds are, also, to the tyro, not excessively 

 dissimilar. 



The male sang one or twice in the vicinity of 

 this nest, but did not appear interested as I 

 examined it. The female, however, sat very 

 closely, brooding until my hand was within a short 

 foot of her. Then she flustered off to an adjoining 

 tree, but returned almost at once, and kept fluttering 

 all round my head with dancing actions and noisy 

 motion of her wings, or else creeping in attitudes 

 on and along adjacent branchlets. She did not, 

 however, call much. 



To-day I saw flocks of adults no more ; but 

 merely lots of from three to ten in number, as well 

 as one or two broods of young out of their respec- 

 tive homes. Another nest I found had four young 

 in it just ready to fly. This example was in the 

 usual site in a Scots fir growing about a dozen 

 paces down a field-hedge running at right angles 

 to a road. 



On May 4th, visiting the locality where I had 

 found two sets of young on April 15th, I met 

 with both pairs of adults, one couple with their 

 progeny in an orchard, the other by themselves. 

 These latter birds were very amorously inclined, 



