SISKIN 



Clirysomitrzs spinus 



HE Siskin is a resident in many of our counties, especially 

 in Scotland ; in England it is best known as a winter 

 visitor, but there are authentic records of its having bred 

 in some fourteen different counties. In Ireland it has 

 also been recorded as having nested, but is most frequently 

 seen in winter. 



The breeding -haunts of the Siskin are the pine 



woods of the north, much the same localities as those in which the Crossbill 

 is found. In their actions on the trees they somewhat resemble the Tits', 

 sometimes hanging upside down, or hovering under a branch like a Willow 

 Wren ; their antics are especially noticeable when they are exploring the cones 

 on the ends of the drooping larch branches. When feeding on the catkins 

 of the alder in the winter, I have noticed them holding the catkin in one 

 claw while they deftly pulled it to pieces and extracted the seeds. They are 

 especially fond of joining some flock of Lesser Redpolls, and lead a sort of 

 gypsy life wandering from place to place in small flocks, here one day, gone the 

 next, just as the fit takes them. They are very tame, and can be approached 

 within quite a short distance. 



The food of the Siskin is principally composed of seeds of various kinds, 

 but it also eats shoots of trees and insects, on the larvae of which its young 

 are chiefly reared. In Rothiemurchus in Strathspey I noticed the Siskin 

 feeding their young on a small green caterpillar, which lived on the birch 

 and alder bushes. Their song is peculiar and very attractive, impossible to 

 describe on paper ; once heard it cannot be confused with that of any other 

 bird. Their call-note is a loud ' tsu-sing,' and when feeding in a flock a 

 low ' kik-kik-kik ' is frequently uttered, chiefly by the males. 



The Siskin is an early breeder, and generally rears two broods in the year ; 



