14 BRITISH BIRDS 
crimson, white, and black of the head and the yellow bar on 
the wing. Wing and tail quills black with white on the tips. 
Under-parts mostly grey-brown. Back brown. The young, 
known as grey-pates or branchers, lack the red, white, and 
black on the head, which is brownish, and have the upper- 
parts and breast streaked brown. 
Nest. Place: trees, shrubs, hedges. Material: neatly built 
of moss, lichen, roots, &c., lined usually with hair, wool, 
down, 
Eggs. Usually 4-6. Pale bluish spotted and streaked with 
deep red-brown, and marked faintly with red-grey. Av. size, 
*67x°50 in. Laying begins May. Two broods. 
14. Siskin [Carduelis spinus (Linneus)]. Resident in Scot- 
land, Ireland, N. England, N. Wales. Elsewhere winter visitor 
and bird of passage. : | 
Bird. Length 43 in. Recognised by the yellow and green 
plumage, black crown and chin, and dusky streaks on the 
back and flanks. For some time after the autumn moult 
the feathers on the nape and back have ash-grey tips. The 
hen is greyer and has the crown olive-green with dusky 
streaks, the chin dull white instead of black, and the under- 
parts all striped, except the belly. The young are still more 
striated. . 
Nest. Place: usually high up in coniferous trees. Material: 
twigs, roots, dry grass, moss, lichen, lined with wool, down, 
hair, feathers, roots. 
Eggs. Usually 4-5. Pale blue marked with red-brown and 
fainter red-grey. Av. size, 64x°47in. Laying begins April— 
May. Two broods. 
15. Lesser-redpoll [Linota linaria cabaret (P. L. S. Miller) ; 
Innota rufescens (Vieillot)|. Resident in most parts. 
Bird. Length 44 in. Recognised by its small size, the rosy 
forehead, crown, breast, and rump, the dusky striated rufous- 
brown back, the black lores and chin, and the buff wing band. 
In winter the rose of the breast is obscured by brown. The 
female has the red on the forehead and crown only. The 
young lack it altogether, as well as the black on the lores and 
chin ; they have the upper-parts greyish with dusky striations, 
the under-parts greyish-white striated on the breast and flanks. 
Nest. In trees, also bushes, hedges, sometimes heather, 
furze, bracken. Material: twigs, stems, moss, wool, &c., 
lined usually with down. 
Eggs. Usually 4-5. Dull greenish marked with purplish- 
brown. Av. size, °62x°48 in. Laying begins. April-May. 
Broods 1-2. 
16. Mealy-redpoll [Linota linaria linaria (Linneus)]. 
