PLATE I 

 S I S K I N. Ckrysomitris spinus 



May ly///, 1895. The nest depicted in this Plate was built in a tall Scotch 

 fir-tree near Loch Vennachar, Perthshire. It was placed right out on the point 

 of a big branch about thirty feet from the ground ; I had to get up a small 

 spruce alongside and look across at it. With some difficulty I managed to 

 see into it, and discovered that it contained five newly hatched young birds. 

 The nest rather resembled an untidy Chaffinch's nest ; it was built chiefly of 

 moss and lichens, and appeared to be lined entirely with fine dry grass. 



All the time I was at the nest, the old birds flew close about me, and 

 often perched within ten feet of me, one of them carrying a small brownish 

 caterpillar in its bill. 



VOL. ii. 2 Q 145 



