26 Transactio7is of the [Sess. 



shortly the interesting process by which the Crossbill contrives to 

 pick up a living out of such apparently dry substances as Fir cones. 

 In the case of the Larch cones, the bird usually cuts them off with 

 its powerful bill much in the same way that a pair of scissors is 

 used, then transfers the cone to its feet as you may have seen a 

 Parrot hold a stick in its cage. But as the mode of procuring the 

 seed can be better explained on the larger Spruce cone, I shall take 

 it as an example. If the cone is not too big, the bird snips it off 

 also, holding it against the branch with its claws ; but should it 

 prove too heavy, it hangs on back downwards after the manner of 

 a Tit or Siskin. In either case the mode of procedure is similar. 

 The under mandible has a sidelong motion as well as the up-and- 

 down action possessed by all birds, so that being the case, it has 

 an extra purchase over the cone, as will be seen presently. It 

 inserts its bill underneath the scale of the cone, and moves the 

 lower jaw to the side, at the same time opening its mouth, which 

 double action has the desired effect of raising up the sheath. That 

 done, it pushes out its long worm-like tongue and pulls the seed 

 into its mouth, letting drop the thin papery-looking substance on 

 the end of which the seed is placed. This operation is performed 

 in far less time than it takes to tell, and it is marvellous how soon 

 a strong old bird can finish a cone. The end of the tongue is 

 furnished with a sharp bony appliance somewhat resembling a 

 " scoop " in structure, which materially assists the bird in extracting 

 the seed. From this slight description can be understood the use 

 of the twisted mandibles, which, in place of being a deformity or 

 malformation, as the old naturalists maintained, is a wise provision 

 of nature to enable the bird to procure its food easily. In fact, an 

 ordinarily constituted bill would be next to useless ; and as it has 

 hard work to do, Providence has endowed it with an extra-powerful 

 organ to accomplish its purpose. The upper mandible crosses 

 sometimes to the right and sometimes to the left ; but it is quite a 

 mistake to suppose that the manner of crossing is a distinguishing 

 mark of the sex, each sex having the bill twisted in both directions. 

 Some have the mandibles more crossed than others — not neces- 

 sarily old birds, be it remarked, as young ones frequently show the 

 twist to an extraordinary degree. Taken on the average, the bills 

 of the greater proportion show the crossing to much the same 

 extent, although there are exceptions to this as to every other 

 rule. In connection with this peculiarity, Dr Bechstein, in his 

 interesting volume on ' Cage Birds,' relates a foolish superstition 

 prevalent in some parts of Germany, such as the Black Forest and 

 Thuringia. He states that the country people hold the Crossbills 

 in great regard, and often keep them in cages, not so much for the 

 purposes of pleasure as from the idea that the poor birds attract 

 diseases from the human frame to their own bodies, and in that 



