460 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



regarded as a British bird, which for a quarter of a century remained 

 doubtful, may now be said to be established. In appearance it might be 

 mistaken for a Goldcrest, Regulus cristatus, but, as observed by Mr. Caton 

 Haigh (Zool. 1892, p. 413), may be detected by "its quick and even flight 

 and brighter colour." Moreover, there is a double bar of pale yellow across 

 the wing-coverts and a white superciliary streak, which suggested the 

 specific name. Its true home is apparently in Siberia, where Mr. Seebohm 

 found it breeding, in the forest between the Yenesei and the Koorayika. 

 The nest, a semi-domed one, was on the ground in a tuft of grass, composed 

 of dry grass and moss, lined with reindeer-hair, the eggs resembling those 

 of the Willow Warbler, Phylloscopus trochilus.—J. E. Harting. 



Breeding of the Saffron Finch (Sycalis flaveola) in Confinement.— 

 For some years past I have from time to time attempted to breed Saffron 

 Finches. It is generally supposed that these birds are easy to breed, yet, 

 until the present year, I was never successful ; until the winter of 1892-3 

 they never showed any inclination either to nest or to lay. Last year I 

 turned loose a hen of Pelzelu's Saffron Finch, with two males and a female 

 of the common species, in my Weaver-aviary ; and this year I purchased 

 another pair, and turned them into a large flight-cage. In the aviary I hung 

 up some large boxes (somewhat after the pattern of sentry-boxes), and in the 

 cage I hung up a cigar-box, perpendicularly, one-third of the lid being 

 removed from the upper end, and the other two-thirds nailed down. The 

 hen bird in the cage began to sit early in May, the first youug bird leaving 

 the nest on June 8th, and two others on the following day. These young 

 birds, bred from pure Saffron Finches, were greenish grey above, with 

 black centres to the feathers, the throat yellowish, the breast clear yellow, 

 the chest, abdomen, and vent white. A. day or two later I heard young 

 birds in one of the boxes in my Weaver-aviary, and on July 14th the first 

 young bird left the nest, followed on the two succeeding days by two others. 

 The latter were altogether duller and darker birds than those bred in the 

 cage, showing no yellow on the breast ; I suspect them to be a cross 

 between S. flaveola and S. pelzelni, but as all four adult birds fed them, it 

 was difficult to decide as to their parentage, though they seemed to follow 

 the hen of Pelzeln's Finch more than that of S. flaveola. Meanwhile, in 

 the cage, the parents began to chase their youugsters, and therefore I 

 removed the latter, when I discovered that their mother had already laid 

 again ; so that it was impossible to clear out the nest-box. This time three 

 young birds were carried out dead, and one only left the nest late in July. 

 Finches seem to object to bringing up single youngsters ; consequently the 

 male bird alone fed this fledgling, and at the end of a week he began to 

 persecute it. I removed it at once, and placed it with the three others of 

 the previous nest ; but, when I went to clean out the nest-box, I found the 



