CROSSBILL 



571 



and the north of England the crossbill is a resident species ; and it has 

 been observed even in the Outer Hebrides, As regards England, there 

 are records of its having nested in almost every county ; and it breeds 

 locally in Ireland, although not seen nowadays in the enormous flocks 

 which occasionally made their appearance in former times. 



Crossbills in winter, when they are comparatively tame, are usually 

 seen in larger or smaller flocks ; and at this season they feed mainly on 

 the seeds of the spruce-fir and larch, although in summer insects com- 

 pose the chief nutriment of 

 both adults and young. A 

 cup - shaped nest, composed 

 externally of twigs, farther in 

 of moss and grass, with a lin- 

 ing of wool and feathers, is 

 built in early spring, and 

 usually placed high up in a 

 pine or fir. In this are de- 

 posited four or five stone- 

 coloured or bluish-white eggs, 

 marked with red spots and 

 more superficial purplish spots 

 and scribbled lines ; the mark- 

 ings when unusually heavy 

 being generally aggregated at 

 the larger end, but otherwise 

 more or less evenly distributed. 



Of the larger form known 

 as the parrot-crossbill, by some 

 regarded as a distinct species 



^ . . . ^ CROSSBILL. 



(Loxm pityopsittacus), and by 



others as a race of the typical species, a considerable number of British 

 examples have been recorded. Its true home is, however, northern 

 Europe and western Siberia ; and it is reported to feed on the seeds of 

 the Scotch fir in preference to those of the spruce or larch. A flight 

 of crossbills is a truly striking spectacle. 



The English crossbill is stated to differ from continental crossbills 

 by the duller colouring of both sexes, while the beak is, as a rule, less 

 elongated and less pointed, and often slightly higher. It has, however, 

 been pointed out that since few crossbills breed regularly in England, 

 it is unlikely that they form a special race. Nevertheless, the English 

 bird has been named Loxia cnrvirostra ans^lica. In Scotland occurs 



