RED CROSSBILL 509 



the bead that split the gall wide open and the aphides within were 

 removed with the tongue." 



The well-known fondness of crossbills and other birds for salt and 

 salty substances was noted by Mrs. Lawrence (1949) when the roads 

 were being sanded with chlorided gravel. She writes: "The Red 

 Crossbills ate not only the grit but the snow half melted by the salt 

 both on the highway and at the saltlick. They put theu* crossed bills 

 sideways and lapped it up with their tongues. * * * At the feeding 

 place the Crossbills also ate coal ashes on which salt had been thrown. 

 They showed great liking for soapy dishwater, as previously mentioned, 

 and the snow discoloured by the dog's urine.* * * 



"Owing to theu' crossed mandibles, the Crossbills drank by putting 

 their bills sideways to the water and then lapping it up with their 

 tongues * * *." 



Behavior. — Crossbills are not particularly shy and can usually be 

 approached closely with a little caution. While feeding in the trees 

 they move about quietly and deliberately; they are said to resemble 

 parrots in their movements, probably in part because they may use 

 their bills in climbing. While feeding on fallen seeds or cones on the 

 ground, they are apt to be more restless, flying occasionally up into 

 the trees and then down again to the ground. 



Their flight is undulating, suggesting that of a woodpecker or a gold- 

 finch, though the dips and bounds are not so pronounced and the 

 flight is swifter and often more prolonged, sometimes at a very con- 

 siderable height. 



WUliam Brewster (1938) noticed the following behavior on cold 

 October mornings in Maine: "Early every morning Crossbills come 

 in numbers to the brick chimney of a shop here and cluster about its 

 top, many clinging to the sides but the majority ranged about the top 

 where they are enveloped in smoke in which they dance up and down 

 with quivering wings in evident enjojnuent." 



Val Nolan, Jr., writes to me of watching a flock near Indianapolis, 

 Ind., on Dec. 31, 1950, at 2:30 on a sunny afternoon. The flock, 

 containing two males, had been extremely restive, active, and wild, 

 not permitting close approach. Finally, by twos and threes, they all 

 flew to a solitary jack pine about 15 feet high. Investigating after a 

 few minutes, he found the flock scattered throughout the tree, resting, 

 and so tame he came within two feet of a bird while it watched. Some 

 of the birds had turned their heads and inserted their bills in the 

 feathers of the back; a few had closed their eyes. 



Voice. — Mrs. LaT\Tence (1949) describes the vocal performances 

 of the red crossbiU as follows: 



At the time of the pairing the male apparently comes into song. As far as my 

 observations show he has two songs, one a perching song and the other a flight 



