Great Invasion of Crossbills in 1909. 343 



in the Italian journal ' Avicula/ Prof. Bonomi gives some 

 interesting particulars regarding the invasion, which he had 

 collected, from his friends in various parts of the Trent 

 district. According to his account, the birds not only- 

 visited the neighbouring woods, but invaded the village 

 gardens and orchards, even perching on the houses in some 

 cases. The poor birds, however, naturally remarkably tame 

 and confiding, seem to have met with scant hospitality, and 

 large numbers of them were killed or captured alive, over 

 500 individuals of the species having been sold one day at 

 Ronzo. Occasional examples of the Two-barred Crossbill 

 (L. bifasciata) appear to have been met with among the 

 flocks of the common species. From what Prof. Bonomi 

 says, no invasion of like proportions had ever been known in 

 those parts before, although the Crossbill appears to be in 

 the habit of visiting the district in certain numbers every 

 three or four years, and in the years 1889 and 1905 was 

 abundant. Prof. Bonomi alludes to the scarcity of cones on 

 the pine-trees in his neighbourhood, and adds that in some 

 districts the conifer forests were absolutely bare of fruit. 



From a letter from Prof. Bonomi I learn that the passage 

 of Crossbills continued throughout the autumn. 



Italy. — -The Crossbill invasion of 1909 was on a vast 

 scale, and, so far as can be remembered, of unprecedented 

 numerical importance throughout the greater part of the 

 country, exceeding in quantity all previous incursions of the 

 kind experienced of recent years. Not only has it spread 

 throughout a considerable portion of the peninsula, but it has 

 also extended to most, if not all, of the Italian islands, both 

 large and small, and even to Malta, which is considered as 

 part of the Italian zoogeographical region. 



Naturally, some districts have been visited by the wandering 

 birds in greater numbers than others, owing to their being 

 situated on the direct line of flight, or for other reasons ; and, 

 naturally also, reports and observations from the more thinly 

 populated districts of the south of the peninsula have been, 

 fewer and more meagre than from many other parts ; but, 

 making due allowance for these circumstances, the invasion 



