SISKIN. 
199 
information :—“ When on a visit in 1850 to Mr. St. John, 
at Elgin, he drew my attention to the locality where he 
suspected that the Siskin was building, and, after much 
searching, we succeeded in obtaining the object of our 
desire. The first nest was found near Inverness, by Mr. 
Lewis Dunbar, on the 10th of April. It had four eggs, 
and was placed near the end of a branch of the spruce-fir. 
A few days afterwards (May 2nd), I took, near Elgin, 
other two nests, which are the only ones I have had an 
opportunity of seeing in their natural position; they 
contained young; one had five, the other four, and a 
rotten egg ; they were both built near the extremity of 
branches of the spruce-fir. The foliage of the trees was 
very dense, so that the nest could scarcely be seen. Last 
year I received another nest, containing five eggs, from 
Ross-shire. The nest is small, measuring in diameter out¬ 
side, three inches; inside, one inch and three quarters; 
depth of cavity, one inch and a quarter. It is composed 
outside of moss, twigs of the fir, and delicate vegetable 
fibres, lined with a few hairs and a little down. There is 
also generally a feather or two, and occasionally a little 
wool." 
