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BIRDS numerous during their migratory movements. As many as twenty dozen have been taken by one pair of nets in a morning on the Dun- stable downs. The greatest number of birds is taken during sleety weather. They tell me that when one man works the nets and another drives the flocks of birds in the required direction as many as fifty dozen birds of various kinds have been taken by two men working two pairs of nets. For the linnet decoy or call-bird a mule goldfinch-canary trained with the linnet's note is preferred. White, buff and pied varieties have often been taken. 60. Mealy Redpoll. Linota linaria (Linn.) There is little reason to doubt the occur- rence of this arctic form of our commoner species within the county during some winters. At present the only information I have been able to gather was given to me by a bird- catcher living at Clifton, who, to my know- ledge, is a very trustworthy man. He said the common redpoll was particularly common in 1894, frequenting the numerous alder trees that grow along the sides of the Ivel, between Chicksands and Stanford, where during the autumn of that year he secured within a few hours one morning no less than fifty-four of the commoner species. It was during the same winter when redpolls were exceptionally numerous that he caught two mealy redpolls along with others from the same locality. Four or five altogether have been taken by him from the same district. 61. Lesser Redpoll. Linota ru/escens (Vieillot) The lesser redpoll is a well known winter migrant, occurring generally in small flights of a dozen or more. As a nesting species I am inclined to think that it is becoming more common, for previous to the year 1894 I have only been able to obtain information respect- ing one instance of its nesting. This was a nest found by Mr. King at Clifton about 1870, which contained young. During 1894 Mr. King kindly forwarded me two nests with eggs, both of which he had found in the neighbourhood between Langford and Biggles- wade. Since then to my personal knowledge one pair at least has continued to nest in the same locality. Mr. Crossman also sent me word that he had found a nest containing six eggs of this species on 10 June 1899 in the old ballast hole along the railway between Bedford and Cardington ; on the same day another nest with five eggs was found by a lad. Both of these nests were built in willow trees. In July 1898, I saw a pair of old birds with young between Shefford and Clifton, and in 1903 two pairs nesting near Southill Lake. A white variety of this species was taken near Luton in 1894. 62. Twite. Linota flavirostris (Linn.) A winter migrant, occurring more particu- larly during the autumn. Throughout the county generally a few whilst accompanying the flights of linnets seem to be taken by the bird-catchers every year, and in the neigh- bourhood of the chalk hills in the south of the county it is I believe a fairly common bird. 63. Bullfinch. Pyrrhula europaa, Vieillot. Fairly common ; in the winter migratory arrivals seem to add to the numbers of our resident birds, and it is then this bird becomes more conspicuous, as it can be seen haunting the wayside hedgerows, feeding upon the dock and various other seeds and hedge fruit, with a particular weakness for the berries of the privet. Unlike any of the other finches, seldom more than a pair, or at the most a small party of four or five, will be found together. 64. Crossbill. Loxia curvirostra, Linn. Flights of the common crossbill varying in numbers may I think be considered now of regular winter occurrence, but owing to their quiet and inconspicuous habits numbers of the birds might frequent a locality for perhaps many years without coming under observation. And I do not think their numbers vary at all with the severity of the weather, for in several of the past mild winters they have been as numerous as in any other years. In their regular haunts, as for instance the fir planta- tions of Ampthill, Woburn, Southill, Rowney Warren and Sandy, records of their occurrence are far too numerous for me to give in detail; sometimes they have been noticed in small parties, and at other times in much larger numbers. A flight observed at Woburn 23 October 1897 contained upwards of fifty birds, and in the winter 1898-9 at Rowney Warren I understand they were very numer- ous. 1 65. Two-barred Crossbill. Loxia bifasciata (Brehm) A flock of about twenty of these birds was found haunting one of the fir plantations at Ampthill on 3 January 1890, from which five were secured with the aid of catapults ; 1 The nesting of this species in our county as recorded in Science Gossip, 1 868, is incorrect ; both nest and eggs have since come into my possession and are certainly proved not to be of this species. 13 15