SOME BIRDS OF THE WINTER. 317 



generally made in the branches of the spruce firs,. 

 not among the fine sprays, but usually on a thick 

 branch close to the tapering trunk. It resembles 

 that of the Hawfinch in the method of its con- 

 struction the outside formed of fine twigs, the 

 inside of roots, mosses, and grass, lined with hair. 

 The eggs are four or five in number, very similar 

 to those of the Bullfinch, but are nearly twice 

 the size. The eggs of the Pine Grosbeak were 

 another of the prizes brought home by Wolley in 

 the year previous to his discovery of the eggs of 

 the Waxwing. No eggs of this bird were known 

 to science until these were obtained in the forests 

 of Russian Lapland. 



The last of our winter birds claiming special 

 notice is the charming Snow Bunting. No 

 other Passerine bird is more thoroughly identified 

 with the Arctic regions than this little northern 

 stranger ; no other known bird penetrates farther 

 into the Polar world, for its cheery chirp and 

 still more cheery song enliven the wildest 

 country in the highest latitude yet reached by 

 man. The Snow Bunting is a circumpolar 

 bird, its range extending across the northern 

 portions of both the Old and New Worlds. It 

 breeds on the Arctic tundras, far beyond the zone 

 of trees, and on the high mountains further south, 

 even as low as the Grampians, where the ele- 

 vation ensures it a similar climate. During winter 

 it wanders southwards into Central Europe, the 

 southern districts of Siberia, the north of China,. 



