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partial to cherries, of all garden-fruits, but will also feed on currants, and especially on mulberries. 
Mr. Sachse informs me that it often does much damage amongst the cherries; and when it has 
once or twice visited a cherry-tree and finds the fruit to its liking, it may be shot, whilst feeding 
there, without much difficulty. 
In Germany, where I have several times found its nest, it commences nidification soon after 
its arrival in May, the place chosen being usually in a dense wood or grove, the nest being placed 
on the upper part of a tolerably small tree, and neatly suspended amongst the smaller branches. 
It is always placed in the fork of a small branch, the nest being basket-shaped, and neatly woven 
to the slender branch on each side, and is one of the most artistic structures amongst the nests 
of our Kuropean birds. Both male and female cooperate in the construction of the nest. One 
I have before me is built in the fork of a slender oak branch, and is made of strips of pliable 
bark, straws, dried grass-bents, &c., closely and firmly constructed, and carefully twisted and 
woven round the branch. The outside is ornamented with strips of paper-like white birch bark ; 
and the interior is lined with fine grass-bents. In size it measures 4 inches one way and 5} the 
other in outside diameter, the inside cup measuring 3-34 inches in diameter and 2} inches in 
depth. As the nest is not built until the foliage is fully developed, it is by no means easy to 
find it. 
The female deposits four or five eggs, late in May or early in June, and incubation lasts 
fourteen or fifteen days, the male assisting his mate in the tedious work, so as to allow her to 
search after food and to get some rest. The eggs are glossy white, more or less spotted with 
deep reddish brown, and marked with a few pale purplish brown shell-blotches. Those in my 
collection vary in size from 174; by 24 inch to 142 by 23 inch. 
When the young are hatched they are carefully tended by their parents, and fed with 
insects, especially caterpillars, a by no means easy task, as they are extremely voracious. ‘The 
young grow quickly; for I examined a nest this spring which contained freshly hatched young, 
and on revisiting it a week later they had already got a tolerably close crop of feathers, those in 
the wings and tail being pretty well developed. The young do not, however, leave the nest until 
they are fully fledged, and soon learn to find food for themselves. Mr. Sachse informs me that 
they can be reared without much difficulty in confinement, the best food for them being the larvee 
of ants; but as cage-birds the males never assume so rich a plumage as is worn in a state of 
nature, but resemble old females. 
The specimens figured are the adult male and female above described, and are in my 
collection. 
In the preparation of the above article I have examined the following specimens :— 
Sv el 
