CROSSBILL 195 



no red feathers come till the first moult, it then was not 

 a young bird, and my nesting theory fails. However, the 

 presence of these birds in summer still would lead me 

 to suspect that it bred." — W. 0. Hammond {Zoologist, 



1868, p. 1376). 



Crossbills near Faversham. — " About the end of May I 

 saw a quantity of these birds on some lofty fir trees ; I 

 and a friend shot about twenty of various colours ; the 

 greater part of them were males. Some were in the 

 beautiful red plumage. After a few days these birds 

 became very shy ; I have had several brought to me since 

 that time ; the last I received — four birds, three of which 

 were males — was on January 12." — A. Skinner {Zoologist, 



1869, p. 1561). 



Mr. R. T. Filmer says: "The only pair that I have 

 ever seen was in the summer of 1871. At that time, in 

 going to and from my work, I passed Springfield, Bye, 

 the residence of the late Mr. Burrak. No doubt the birds 

 nested in his grounds ; they were daily seen by me for a 

 long time." 



In the Maidstone Museum there is a male and female 

 obtained at Boughton Malherbe on July 25, 1887, by the 

 Eev. H. A. Watson. This pair of birds was noticed in 

 the Rochester Naturalist, October, 1887, by Mr. H. Lamb 

 and also in the Zoologist of that year. And there is also 

 a pair procured near Maidstone in November, 1889, by 

 Mr. W. H. Bay. There are also specimens in the Can- 

 terbury Museum from St. Alban's Court, Wingham, in 

 Mr. AV. Oxenden Hammond's collection. The Ptev. B. 

 Delmar records it from Elmstone. Mr. Selby Smith 

 procured two males and a female on December 8, 1903, 

 in some fir trees at Barming, near Maidstone, which are 

 still in his possession. A fully fledged nestling, just able 



