Mr. C. B. Ticehurst on Loxia pytyopsittacus. 355 



XVII. — A Note on Loxia pytyopsittacus Bork. 

 By Claud B. Ticehukst, M.A., M.R.C.S., M.B.O.U. 



In the lately published ' List of British Birds/ compiled by 

 a committee of the B.O.U., I was very surprised to find that 

 the Parrot Crossbill, Loxia pytyopsittacus Bork., was not 

 included either as a good species or subspecies, and such a 

 finding cannot be passed over without comment. It will 

 perhaps be interesting to review how some previous authors 

 regarded the question. Pennant was the first to notice this 

 bird in Britain, and looked upon it as a large variety ; he 

 " received a male and female out of Shropshire/' and noted 

 accurately tlie characteristic features as compared with the 

 Common Crossbill. Selby's Boss-shire specimen, used for 

 the figui'e in his work and in the later editions of ' Bewick/ 

 might now-a-days perhaps be open to doubt, but Mr. Eagle 

 Clarke informs me that this actual specimen is still in 

 existence in the Royal Scottish jNluseuin, and is a genuine 

 example of L. pytt/opsittacus. Fleming included it as a 

 straggler, and Macgillivray, although he admitted it to his 

 list, seemed doubtful as to its validity but allowed he had 

 only seen one specimen. Newton, in the fourth edition of 

 Yarrell, accepted it without hesitation, remarking that it had 

 for many years received specific recognition from the most 

 approved authorities. Sharpe, on the other hand, and 

 Saunders following him, did not " consider it even worthy 

 of subspecific rank." Mr. Dresser, who examined many 

 specimens of both forms, included it in his ' Birds of Europe,' 

 and Dr. Hartert finds it a place in his ' Palsearctic Birds.' 

 That specimens rightly referred to this bird have been on a 

 number of occasions obtained in Great Britain cannot be 

 doubted on referring to Yarrell, ed. iv. vol. ii. pp. 208-9, and 

 several of these are still in existence, although they have 

 not come under Dr. Hartert's notice (Yogel paliiarkt. Fauna, 

 p. 123). 



Now to come to facts as regards this bird in contra- 

 distinction to the Common Crossbill. First we have the 



