CONTINENTAL RACIAL FORMS, ETC. loi 



rank. It is an irregular visitor to Scotland, and has been 

 recorded from Haddington, Midlothian, Linlithgow, the Isle 

 of May, and Shetland. The Greater Redpoll {Carduelis 

 Imai'ia rostratd) breeds in southern Greenland. It is a very 

 large form, with strong linnet-like bill. The upper side is 

 very dark, and the striping on the under-side strikingly dark 

 and heavy. It is an uncommon visitor to Scotland, and has 

 been recorded from Lanark, the Inner Hebrides (Tiree), the 

 Outer Hebrides, Orkney, and Shetland. 



The Northern Bullfinch {Pyrrhula pyj^rhula pyrrhuld) 

 is a larger bird than the British race, the wing measuring 

 93-98 mm., as against 81-88 mm. in the smaller bird. The 

 grey on the back is lighter, and the pink on the breast 

 generally brighter. The female, too, is lighter and cleaner 

 in colour than the British bird. The Northern Bullfinch 

 breeds in Northern Europe and Western Siberia, and is 

 an irregular passage migrant in Scotland, occurring in 

 considerable numbers in some years. It has been recorded 

 from Berwick, Haddington, North and South Fife, and the 

 Isle of May, Orkney, and Shetland. We have not, ourselves, 

 been fortunate enough to see this bird alive, but several 

 occurred on the Isle of May after we had left the island in 

 1910, and the inhabitants there told us what a beautiful 

 bird it was, and how much larger and brighter it looked 

 than the common form. 



One of our most interesting birds is the SCOTTISH 

 Crossbill {Loxia awvirostra scoticd), which differs from its 

 continental relative in having a stouter and more curved 

 bill, the curve of the upper mandible being more round and 

 the whole bill heavier. The typical form of CROSSBILL 

 {Loxia ciirvirostra curvirostra) breeds in Europe generally 

 and in Northern Asia, and visits Scotland at irregular 

 intervals, and in some seasons in large numbers. The 

 Crossbills which have bred irregularly in a few of the 

 southern counties (Dumfries, Wigtown, Ayr, Linlithgow, 

 Stirling, and possibly Kincardine), probably belonged to 

 this race. In 1909 there was a very large immigration of 

 this form into Scotland : the first was seen on Fair Isle 

 on 23rd June; thereafter they arrived in numbers, as many 



