J GcuH.trruLH d ich ter M ethth.
ir .m o TA i o s x t o m . Walter,Imp
LINOTA MONT1UM.
Twite or Mouatain-Linnet.
Fringitta montium, Grael. edit. Linn. Syst. Nat., tom. i. p. 917.
----------montana, Penn. Brit. Zool., vol. i. p. 467.
Linaria montana, Briss. Orn., tom iii. p. 145.
montium, Leach.
flavirostris, Macgiti. Hist, of Brit. Birds, voL i. p. 879.
Linota montium, Bonap. Geogr. and Comp. List of Birds of Eur. and N. Am., p. 34.
Cannabina flamrostris, DegL
Acanthis montium, Blyth, Cat. of Birds in Mus. Asiat Soc. Calcutta, p. 125.
Cannabina montium, Brehm, Isis, 1828, p. 1277.
. . / — montium, flavirostris, et media, Brehm.
FringiUa ßamrostris ?, Linn. Faun. Suec., p. 87.
“ T he nest o f the Twite is placed amid the tops of the tallest heaths, and is composed of dry grasses
and heather, and lined with wool, the fibres of roots, and the finer parts of h eath ; and the four or fire eggs
it contains are o f a pale bluish green, spotted with pale orange-brown. The bird itself leaves the mountains
in autumn, and assembles in (locks, which associate and travel with the Common Linnet, and are taken in
their company by the L om fc »jfd-catchers, who can always tell when there are any Twites in the flock
by their peculiar note, expressive of that word.” These are the words o f Mr. Selby, one o f o a r best
observers, with respect to this interesting little bird, which is very generally dispersed over the lowlands
of tile British Inlands in winter and the monntain-tops in snmmer; there, amidst the pure air and
flowering bog 1 pours forth its mirthful little song, and brings forth its young. In the Peak district of
Derbyshire, m .. ■ Cheviots of Northumberland, in the Grampians of Scotland the Twite may always be
fonnd • and northward of these localities, even to the Orkneys and the Outer Hebrides, it is the most
abundant „( the snooner visitant«, and may be seen breeding at the proper season. In the northern parts
o f Europe, from Scandinavia to Prussia, it is as plentiful as with n s ; bat it becomes sensibly more scarce
as we proceed southwards.
The Twite has hut few fine colours to recommend it to our notice: unlike the Linnet and its allies, in
which red is the prevailing tint, a little deep blood- or purplish red on the rump of the male, and the
male only, is the only variation from tlic uniformity o f its brown colouring ; I must mention, however, that
io the breeding-season the bill, which is usually of a mealy white, becomes of a wax-yellow. As a bird for
the cage, it is less in request than the Linnet.
MacgiUivray states that “ it is plentiful in the Hebrides, and in winter frequents the corn-yards in large
flocks, dinging to the stacks of oats and picking out the seeds. Its flight is rapid and undulating, and it
wheels over the fields previous to alighting, uttering a soft twitter a t intervals. When disturbed, it betakes
itself to tall trees or to a distant field; but is not shy, and may be easily approached when feeding. In
spring, it forsakes its winter haunts, and disperses over the hilly tracts, where it forms its nest on the ground,
among short heath or on the grassy slopes of craggy spots. The nest is a neat structure of fine dry grasses,
fragments of heath, and a little moss, lined with roots, wool, and hair. In habits it almost precisely
resembles the Common Linnet, with which in winter it sometimes associates. Toward« the commencement
o f th at season, the intliv id u is unite into flocks, sometimes of vast extent, and search for food chiefly in the
stubble-fields, where, besides the seeds of duckweed, field-mustard, polygon», and other plants, they pick up
those of the cultivated grasses. Although both this and the Common Linnet might seem too small to feed
upon these latter seeds, yet in winter I hate generally fonnd the greater part o f the contents of their
stomach to consist of them.”
Sir William Jardine informed Mr. Yarrell that the Twite is abundant in the North Highlands, where it
takes the place, in summer, of the Common Linnet in the Lowlands. A pair shot within a few hundred
yards of Jardine Hall in Dumfriesshire, whither they had been driven by a winter storm, were feeding on the
heads of the black knapweed (Centsores nigra).
The presence of the Twite in the Orkneys has been noticed by the Rev. Mr. Low, by Mr. J. D. Salmon,
and by the late Mr. Dunn. Mr. Low states that it remains there all the year, building in the heath, hat
seldom or never m b ashes; Mr. Salmon, that the Mountain was the only species of Linnet seen by his p a rty :
two nests came under their observation; one was placed upon the ground, among the young earn, the other
amidst some whins ( i f e ) : they were both alike, their outside composed of small roots and dried grass,
and their insides lined with a small quantity of hair and a few feathers; and each contained six eggs, simi ar