3 
pleased to be in a position to give some reliable details not only respecting the habits, but also 
as to the nidification of Serinus pusillus. 
Mr. C. G. Danford, to whom I am indebted for so many excellent notes, met with it in the 
Taurus Mountains, and obtained not only many specimens of the bird, but also its nest and eggs. 
The following are the notes respecting the habits of this bird with which he has furnished me, 
viz. :—“ The Kaisariyeh road diverges from the main track to Eregli, at Bozanti Khan, and, after 
crossing the river by a ford, leads up the northern sides of the Ala dagh through a district at 
first well wooded with fir (Pinus laricio), which soon becomes interspersed with bushes and 
juniper trees (Juniperus excelsa). ‘The common Serin Finch had been constantly observed in 
other parts of the mountains, and still continued common; but it was here that the first specimen 
of S. pusidlus was shot, from a small flock by the wayside. They were rather shy, and time did 
not admit of their being then followed up; so a long tramp from our halting-place of Giaour- 
keui was undertaken on the following day—quite unsuccessfully; for not one S. pusillus was 
seen. 
“Next morning an excursion was made from the above village, along the banks of the 
Korkiin river to the northward, when many flocks of the desired bird were met with, and during 
the rest of our stay in the Ala dagh (19th to 28th April) if was constantly observed both in little 
flocks and pairs at elevations of from 3000 to 5000 feet. So common was it that during a ride 
of eight hours from Giaour keui to Bereketlti at least a thousand of this species must have 
been seen. 
‘It appears to breed exclusively in the juniper trees, which are here very large, and form 
the characteristic and, cedars excepted, almost the only tree-growth of this part of the country. 
The dense foliage and close contact of these trees make the nests extremely difficult to find. 
Birds, however, were observed building; eggs almost ready for extrusion were taken from those 
shot; and on the 21st April a nest containing four eggs, and declared to belong without doubt 
to this species, was brought in. . It was taken from a juniper tolerably high up; and there seems 
but little reason to discredit the identification, as the bird is so common and well known to the 
natives, whereas the ordinary Serin is quite rare among the junipers, preferring the fir-districts. 
“‘ The two species seem never to intermix at this season, though this is probably not the case 
in winter. In habits and song they are pretty nearly identical, the notes of pusel/a being perhaps 
rather the weaker. ‘They are, however, readily distinguishable on the wing, as the little red 
fronts look very dark when flying; and when.feeding on the ground or perched among the dark 
juniper-foliage their brilliant orange-red foreheads are most conspicuous, and often look like day 
glowworms, being visible when the rest of the body cannot be made out. 
“Tn a large series the colour and size of the frontal patch is the same in both sexes; but the 
male differs from the female in having the black of the throat deeper and extended lower down, 
and the general plumage more richly tinted with orange. ‘These juniper-districts of the Ala 
dagh are the only localities in which the present species was found to occur, and are evidently 
the breeding-grounds of vast numbers of this beautiful little Finch.” 
Mr. Danford has forwarded to me for inspection the nest and eggs of this bird above referred 
to. The nest is a rather larger structure than that of the common Serin Finch, is built of fine 
bents intermixed with a few grey lichens, and is carefully and warmly lined with dark-coloured 
2Y 
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