remaining almost motionless for some hours together, only descending in the morning and evening to procure berries, in search of which they climb from branch to branch with considerable dexterity. Their flight is light and graceful, being effected by very rapid strokes of the wings. Upon the ground they move with difficulty, and rarely alight upon its surface, except when in search of water. Their call-note is a hissing, twittering sound, very similar to that produced by blowing down the barrel of a key. The song, though monotonous and gentle, is uttered by both sexes with so much energy and expression as to produce a pleasing effect, and may be generally heard throughout the entire year. Insects unquestionably constitute the principal food of the Silk-tails during the warmer months, but in winter they subsist mainly upon various kinds of berries. So voracious is this species, that, according to Naumann, it will devour an amount of food equal to the weight of its own body in the course of twenty-four hours. When caged, it sits all day long close to its eating-trough, alternately gorging, digesting, and sleeping, without intermission. Until the last few years we were entirely without particulars as to the incubation of the Silk-tail, and have to thank Wolley for the first account of the nest and eggs. This gentleman, who visited Lapland in 1857, determined not to return to England until he had procured the long-desired treasure, and, after great trouble and expense, succeeded in collecting no fewer than 600 eggs. All the nests discovered were deeply ensconced among the boughs of pine-trees, at no great height from the ground; their walls were principally formed of dry twigs and scraps from the surrounding branches; the central cavity was wide, deep, and lined with blades of grass and feathers. The brood consists of from four to seven, but usually of five eggs, which are laid about the middle of June; the shell is blueish or purplish white, sparsely sprinkled with brown, black, or violet spots and streaks, some of which take the form of a wreath at the broad end (see Fig. 25, Coloured Plate IV.) The Silk-tail readily accustoms itself to life in a cage, and in some instances has been known to live for nine or ten years in confinement, feeding principally upon vegetables, salad, white bread, groats, or bran steeped in water. * * * * *