GOLDCBEST. 147 



of this little bird is very surprising: it will alight on the 

 branch of a tall tree in the copse, and after a momentary 

 survey, will dart on its prey reposing on the back of the 

 stem, suspend itself for a moment by a rapid motion of its 

 wings, then return to a branch, again glance at the stem, 

 and flit to it; in this manner it gradually mounts to the 

 top of the tree, and, should its prey prove to be plentiful, 

 will ascend and descend several times in succession, occasionally 

 darting into the air at some unwary gnat sporting in the 

 beams of the winter sun.' 



Their song, as may be supposed, is a very small one; and 

 Pennant mentions his having heard the bird utter it for a 

 considerable time while hovering over a bush. It is very 

 soft, rather sweet, and pleasing, and is heard even in the 

 beginning or middle of the early month of February, and 

 sometimes as soon as the end of January: it is mostly given 

 forth from a branch, or in a hedge, or while the bird is 

 flying from tree to tree; as well as when hovering in the 

 manner spoken of. The ordinary note is weak and feeble, but 

 rather shrill; and in the quiet stillness of the depth of the 

 wood it cannot fail to draw the attention, especially when 

 the whole of the little party are incessantly uttering it: it is 

 a mere 'tzit, tzit,' and 'see' or 'sree.' 



These birds begin to pair even by the end of February, 

 and Mr. Selby has known the young birds fully fledged so 

 early as the third week in April, the nest being built in 

 March. The nest is placed underneath and generally near 

 the end of the branch of a fir, or occasionally on an oak, 

 cypress, holly, yew, or other tree, as also not very unfrequently 

 in a laurustinus or other bush, and, though very rarely, in a 

 hedge, supported by some of the smaller offshoots, and further 

 attached to these by the moss and lichens of which it is 

 composed being interwoven with them, mixed sometimes with 

 willow down, cocoons, spiders' webs, wool, grasses, and a few 

 hairs. It measures about three inches and a half in diameter 

 inside, and is deep and of a spherical shape, the orifice being 

 almost always in the upper part: some however are not 

 perfectly round. It closely assimilates in colour to the branch 

 beneath which it is fixed. It is sometimes placed near the 

 top of the tree, and at others only two or three feet from 

 the ground: a very high gale has been known to dislodge 

 the eggs 'When the wind blows the cradle will rock.' These 

 birds have been known to steal the materials from the nests 



