MOUNTAIN LINNET. 
109 
stones lying singly upon the ground ; occasionally, though less 
frequently, upon ledges or in crevices of sea cliffs ; twice in 
low elders at the height of about four feet from the ground ; 
once in a rabbit-burrow, once in a hay-stack, and once in the 
wall of a stable, considerably above my reach. 
In Unst, at least, the nesting habits have latterly undergone a 
considerable change, no doubt in consequence of the rapidly- 
increasing growth of the young trees. Of late years, not a 
summer has passed without my finding many nests at Halligarth, 
chiefly in gooseberry bushes and in elders, the branches of 
which, being much crowded and less divergent than those of 
the other trees, afforded a better resting-place for the nest in 
windy weather. As may be supposed, many were destroyed 
by cats; but a safe place once found was again resorted to, not 
only in the same season, but in the succeeding one also. Early 
in May 1870, Miss Cameron Mouat showed me a Twite’s nest 
in the greenhouse at Gardie. , It was an exceedingly beautiful 
object, being placed among the branches of a juniper which was 
growing in a large flower-pot. Two eggs were laid, and the female 
began to sit closely, quite regardless of the frequent presence of 
nmnerous admiring visitors, becoming so tame indeed as to feed 
while they stood by. It is almost needless to add that the poor 
bird was soon afterwards killed by a cat. One very favourite 
situation for the nest is under a long strip of turf which has 
been nearly reversed by the plough. In such a situation I once 
found the commencement of a nest, and derived much interest 
from watching the progress of the work. When one of the 
birds disclosed to me the site chosen for its future habitation 
by flying out suddenly at my feet, I could perceive nothing 
more than a slight hollow which had been scraped beneath the 
turf; and although I frequently visited the spot in the course of 
the day, nothing more was seen of the bird until about twenty 
hours afterwards, when the pair began placing a number of fibrous 
roots in front, in the form of a half-circle, the back part of the 
cavity being left untouched. In a few hours’ time some stalks 
of plants were .added, and from four o’clock in the afternoon 
