Fauna of Twizell. 393 



it is never seen upon the ground. The bullfinch (Pyrr. vulgaris,) 

 beautiful and ornamental as it is to the plantations, is the only spe- 

 cies whose numbers I wish to see diminished, being a true gemmi- 

 vorous bird, and when abundant, frequently making sad havock in 

 the orchard and garden, as soon as the buds begin to swell in spring. 

 It attacks the plum trees, gooseberries, medlars, certain varieties of 

 the apple and the thorn, and I have known two individuals in the 

 course of a couple of days denude a large plum tree of almost every 

 bud. Last spring two or three attacked a large medlar upon the 

 lawn, which they found so much to their taste that they never quit- 

 ted it till they had stripped it bare, and this they effected in a few 

 days. I may remark, that in the stomachs of a very great number 

 opened at various times, nothing but the triturated remains of the 

 embryo leaves and flowers could be detected. In winter they af- 

 fect the young plantations and birch woods, and I have observed 

 that they often feed upon the embryo shoots of the Scotch fir, as 

 well as the buds of the larch. The crossbill (Lox. curvirostra) is 

 well known as an occasional visitant. During the winter and spring 

 of 1836, they were particularly abundant throughout the island, 

 and whether from the ample supplies of food, or something peculiar 

 in the season, they remained in the north to a period much later 

 than I had ever before known them. On their former visits they 

 have generally quitted us before Christmas, and this I considered to 

 be in accordance with Temminck's statement as to the period of their 

 breeding, for he remarks in his Manual, niche en hiver, but on their 

 last visit they were seen in considerable numbers during March and 

 April, and I continued to take specimens up to the 2d of May, on 

 which day a male and female, evidently paired, were procured. On 

 dissecting the female, eggs as large as a pea were found in the ova- 

 ries, the male also for the first time was heard to utter his love note, 

 a fine clear whistle (very unlike their usual call,) while perched on 

 the tree with his mate. Another pair was seen as late as the 16th 

 of May. From these facts, it appears that the species do not always 

 breed at the time mentioned by Temminck. Its nest hitherto has 

 not been detected in Britain, but it seems probable that on such 

 occasions as we have mentioned it may nidificate in the extensive 

 pine woods of Scotland. 



Of the Corvidae, the raven (C. corax) is now only seen occasion- 

 ally, but in former days it bred in Twizell Dean, where the Cor- 

 bies' Crag still points out the situation of the nest. The carrion crow 

 (C. corone,) though persecuted to the death as the great destroyer of 

 the eggs and young of game, is yet too plentiful. From the obser- 



