THE SISKIN. 61 



are stragglers to Great Britain or escaped cage-birds; Seebohm insisted that they 

 were the former, because they showed no evidence of having been in captivity, 

 although the same might be said of most birds which have been carefully attended 

 to in spacious aviaries. Howard Saunders did not hesitate to regard them as freed 

 captives, observing that "although cages-full are known to be imported, there are 

 persons who wish to believe that the individuals captured are not escaped birds, 

 but stragglers from a warm to an inhospitable climate." Here again, the same 

 might be said of other species with equal fairness, yet I think he is probably 

 correct. 



Family FRINGILLID^.. Subfamily FRINGILLINsE. 



THE SISKIN. 



Chrysomitris spinus, LINN. 



THE distribution of the Siskin or Aberdevine* extends throughout Europe to 

 the limit of conifer growth : in Africa it is said to occur during severe 

 winters in Morocco and Algeria ; it is also found in Northern Asia, and across 

 Siberia to China and Japan. 



In Great Britain during the summer months the Siskin is chiefly confined to 

 the fir-woods of the north, consequently it is somewhat local in its distribution ; 

 in some parts of Scotland and Ireland it is fairly abundant as a breeding species, 

 as also in some of the northern counties of England : it has, moreover, been 

 known occasionally to breed in Surrey, Sussex, and I am tolerably sure that it 

 has bred at Keston, in Kent, near to the lakes, where there is a belt of tall con- 

 ifers, for I saw a pair there early in June, 1886, and heard the male singing its 

 sprightly song, with the unmistakeable hurdy-gurdy finish. In the winter the 



* Generally called "'Appy divine" by .the London bird-catchers; but one man who called occasionally > 

 used always to ask if I wanted any " Abbies," 



VOL. II. L 



