138 SKETCHES OF BIRD LIFE. 



In the third volume of his Illustrations of British 

 Birds and their Eggs (p. 97), the above-named 

 author gives an interesting account of two other 

 nests of the Siskin which he found, the one at St. 

 Anne's Hill, Chertsey, and the other "in a wild 

 straggling hedge in the open plain bordering the 

 Thames, at no great distance." In both cases the 

 parent bird was distinctly seen upon the nest. 



To this account, and to some remarks by that 

 excellent observer Charles St. John (which may be 

 found in his Natural History and Sport in Moray, 

 p. 1 10), we refer such of our readers as seek further 

 information than is here given. 



To those who know the Siskin only as a cage- 

 bird, we say, study him in his proper haunts ; steal 

 quietly to the alder, pine, or birch tree ; watch his 

 merry antics, and listen to his sprightly song ; and 

 we venture to say that the pleasure to be thus 

 derived will far outweigh any that can arise from 

 the contemplation of a solitary captive. 



