XLIII. 



COCCOTHRAUSTES VULGARIS, (brisson.) 



Grosbeak. 



This bird has before been said to breed in this country, 

 but the instances are very rare, if not altogether doubtful. 

 Mr. Doubleday, of Epping, has for some years suspected 

 that it must breed in the neighbouring forest, having occa- 

 sionally seen the bird, and likewise some eggs of a species 

 unknown to him, and has, by his assiduity during the summer 

 of the present year, established this very interesting fact by 

 finding several of their nests and eggs : to his kindness and 

 liberality (which will in various instances contribute to the 

 value of this work,) I am indebted for the nest and eggs of 

 this rare bird, together with the following information. It 

 breeds in May and June ; in some instances in bushy trees 

 at the height of five or six feet, and in others near the top 

 of firs, at an elevation of twenty or thirty feet; tlie nest 

 is remarkably shallow and carelessly put together, being 

 scarcely deeper than that of the Ring Dove; in materials it 

 resembles that of the Bullfinch, but is by no means to be 

 compared to it in neatness and compactness of construction ; 

 it is chiefly formed of sticks, interspersed with pieces of white 

 lichens from the bark of trees, and is loosely lined with roots : 

 the eggs are from four to six in number, varying as shown in 

 Figures 1 and 2 of the annexed Plate. 



