398 THE BIRDS OF HELIGOLAND 



creatures. When he had finished, I asked him in a quite casual 

 manner : ' And are they really all small birds ; are there no larger 

 birds at all ? ' Whereupon he exclaimed : ' No, not one ; the whole 

 place swarms with nothing but small birds.' I replied : ' Well, 

 now, that is wonderful ; but who on earth can have carried all 

 these little folk over on his back ? ' From that time he never 

 mentioned the subject again. 



The breeding area of the Siskin extends from France and 

 England through the whole of central and northern Europe and 

 Asia to Japan. In Scandinavia it has been met with even beyond 

 the Arctic Circle. 



198. Citril Finch [ZITRONENZEISIG]. 

 FRINGILLA CITRINELLA, Linn. 1 



Fringilla citrinella. Naumann, v. 148. 



Citril Finch. Dresser, iii. 535. 



Gros-bec venturon. Temminck, Manuel, i. 370, iii. 263. 



There is very little to be said about this bird here : it has only 

 occurred twice. Many years ago Reymers had caught one alive, 

 and kept it in a cage for a number of years. On the 19th March 

 1849 one was again seen, but not killed ; and I have up to the 

 present not been able to obtain one for my collection. 



The nesting stations of this species are situated in the moun- 

 tains of southern Europe, extending as far north as Switzerland 

 and the Black Forest. 



199. Serin Finch [GIRLITZ]. 

 FRINGILLA SERINUS, Linn. 2 



Fringilla serinus. Naumann, v. 114. 



Serin Finch. Dresser, iii. 549. 



Gros-bec serin. Temminck, Manuel, i. 356, iii. 259. 



Alexander von Homeyer and other ornithologists have attempted 

 to prove that the Serin Finch has been advancing its breeding area 

 in a northerly direction. So far as I know, however, no such attempt 

 at nesting has at present extended beyond central Germany. Now, 

 although one can hardly expect to hear of this bird building a 

 nest in Heligoland, the occurrence here of five young grey indivi- 



1 Chrysomitris citrinella (Linn.). 2 Serinus hortulanus, Koch. 



