PINE SISKIN. 63 



feathers, and hairs. A nest found May 27, 1891, in Town 29, Oconto Co., "Wis., by 

 Mr. A. J. Schoenebeck, was built in the dense branches of a small pine about twenty- 

 five feet from the ground. It was constructed of grasses and pine needles, and the lining 

 was a felted mass of plant down and feathers of the Ruffed Grouse and Blue Jay. The 

 eggs, four in number, were too far advanced in incubation to be preserved. They were 

 pale bluish-white, spotted rather sparingly with lilac and brown. A set of four eggs, 

 taken June 25, 1887, in northern New York, and now in the "Goss Collection of North 

 American Birds' Eggs," in the Public Museum of Milwaukee, shows a great variation in 

 regard to coloring. One egg is speckled all over mth many reddish-brown and a few 

 dark brown splashes and spots ; the second has a dense wreath of dark and light brown 

 markings and a number of spots all over the shell ; the third is only spotted with dark 

 and light brown marks on the point of the larger end, being almost without a trace of 

 markings on the rest of the shell, and the fourth is almost immaculate. 



Dr. A. K. Fisher found a nest of this bird at Sing Sing, N. Y., and Dr. J. A. Allen 

 discovered another one near Cornwall-on-Hudson, Orange Co., N. Y. The house where 

 Dr. Allen stopped from April 20 to May 12, 1887, was in the midst of a lawn of 

 several acres in extent, well set with fruit and shade trees, overlooking the Hudson. 



This great ornithologist writes: "On the day of my arrival a small flock of Pine 

 Finches, busily hunting food in the pines and spruces, attracted my attention, but as the 

 season w^as late and the weather still cold it was not, of course, a noteworthy occurrence. 

 They continued to haunt the vicinity for several days, when all disappeared except a 

 single pair. On the morning of May 3, 1 was surprised to see one of the birds gathering 

 material for a nest. She was easily traced to the lower branch of a Norway pine, 

 scarcdy thirty feet from the piazza, and almost within reach of a little summer house 

 overrun with a w^isteria vine. The site chosen for the nest was the extremity of the 

 branch, about eight or ten feet from the ground, and well concealed. Several times the 

 little builder carried material to the nest while I was sitting in the arbor, almost 

 within reach of it. Although I afterward carefully kept away, the birds seemed not 

 fuUy satisfied with the exposed situation, and after the second day I noticed that 

 nothing seemed to be added to the structure, and my fears that they had abandoned it 

 proved true. Still the birds were about, and the female was often observed with bits 

 of nest-material in her bill. A little patient watching disclosed the fact that a new 

 nesting-site had been chosen, — this time the extremity of an upper branch of a neigh- 

 boring Norway pine, about thirty-five feet from the ground, and about the same distance 

 from the much frequented piazza of the house. As it was on the side of the tree toward 

 the house, and nearly on a level with the windows of my room, I had a fine opportunity 

 of watching the industrious little architects, although the nest itself was completely 

 hidden from view by the .dense pine needles in which it was placed. 



"One of the birds, presumably the female, did all the work, but was escorted to 

 and from the nest by the male, who further manifested his interest and joy by a pro- 

 fusion of Canary-like twee-e-ts and other peculiarly sweet and pleasing notes. Later 

 the birds were more silent and much less frequently seen; — it was evident that incuba- 

 tion had begun. Here was certainly a prize, which, in view of all the circumstances, it 

 seemed hardly right to ignore; for the nests and eggs of the Pine Finch are by no 



