FRINGILLIN.B. 



199 





THE PINE-GROSBEAK. 



PvRRHULA ENUCLEATOR (Linnaeus). 



The Pine Grosbeak is at the utmost a very rare visitor to the 

 British Islands, and although about forty so called ' occurrences ' 

 are on record, critical examination by Mr. J. H. Gurney (Zool. 

 1877, PP- 242-250 and 1890 pp. 125-129), and Professor Newton 

 (4th Ed. Yarrell's B. B.), has disposed of many as unworthy of belief, 

 although the identification of the specimens still existing is correct. 

 Live birds have often been brought to England, and, according to 

 Dr. A. G. Butler, few species are more likely to be turned out of 

 aviaries, on account of their voracity and bad habits ; while dead 

 specimens have frequently been sent over frozen, a notable consign- 

 ment being in March 18S9. Where so much deception is known to 

 have been practised, suspicion is inevitable, and may, perhaps, be 

 carried too far. Mr. J. Whitaker has a male in rosy plumage shot 

 on October 30th 1890, in Nottinghamshire (Zool. 1890, p. 464); 

 while a female, recorded by Mr. J. H. Gurney (Zool. 1893, p. 150), 

 was captured alive near Yarmouth on September 3rd 1892, moulted 

 in October, and was alive up to January 24th 1893. In Heligoland 

 an adult male was obtained on October 20th 1890. 



