The nest is a beautifully made structure, nearly resembling that of the chaffinch, and generally built by the female alone, who is cheered in her task by the continuous song of the cock. It is frequently built in gardens, often at no great distance from the house, generally at a height of from fifteen to twenty feet above the ground, the most favoured situation being the fork of a bough, in which it is so well secured that it will retain its place even when the tree is felled. The four or five black-spotted bluish green eggs are laid by the female in May, and are hatched in thirteen or fourteen days. The young remain in the company of their parents for some time after they have left the nest. In many parts of the Continent goldfinches collect in the autumn in large flocks, which in winter break up into small parties of from ten to twenty birds. THE RAZORBILL OR AUK (_Alca torda_) The razorbill, or auk, which, in suitable localities, is one of the commonest of British sea-birds, has an interest all its own from the circumstance that it is the nearest living relative of the now extinct great auk, these two species being, in fact, the sole members of the genus _Alca_. Both these birds present a considerable superficial resemblance to the penguins of the Southern Hemisphere; and it seems to be due to this resemblance that the latter owe their name, for there appears to be little doubt that the great auk was the true and original penguin, or pinguin, and that the birds we now know by that name were so called by the old voyagers on account of their likeness to the former species. Such resemblance as exists between the two groups is, however, merely of the most superficial kind, auks being strong fliers, with feet of normal structure, whereas the wings of penguins serve the purpose of paddles, and the bones of their feet are quite unlike those of all other birds. Auks, in fact, appear to be near relatives of the gulls and terns, which have assumed, in accordance with their mode of life, a partially upright position of body. For these birds, in common with guillemots, very frequently breed on the narrow ledges of cliffs, where it is obvious that an upright posture affords them greater facilities for movement and at the same time economises space. In accordance with this habit, razorbills, in common with other members of the auk tribe, lay pear-shaped eggs, which cannot well roll off the bare ledges of rock on which they are often laid. As a rule, each female deposits only one, relatively large, egg; while no female incubates more than a pair of these eggs at the same time. Sometimes, in place of a bare ledge, the egg is laid in a hollow in the rock, or, where the soil is of a suitable nature, in a hole excavated by the parent bird. All members of the auk tribe are inhabitants of the cooler portions of the Northern Hemisphere; their place in the corresponding southern latitudes being taken by the aforesaid penguins. [Illustration]