Great Invasion of Crossbills in 1909. 349 



island until quite late in the year, some of them indeed 

 having actually been seen in the neighbourhood of Palermo 

 in January of the present year. As a rule, the very irregular 

 and fitful appearances of the Crossbill in Sicily occur during 

 the late summer and autumn months, and the species is not 

 seen there in winter. 



The first arrivals of Crossbills in Sicily last year appear to 

 have been noticed early in July. One of my gardeners at 

 the Villa Malfitano, near Palermo, reported having seen some 

 of the species on the 3rd or 4th of that month. On the 

 10th of July I myself observed several Crossbills in my 

 garden, feeding on the pine-trees (Pinus maritimd) which 

 are plentiful there, and I secured a few specimens of them. 

 The birds were in small flocks of from half a dozen to twenty 

 individuals, young of the year predominating. On the 11th 

 of July some of the birds were again observed in my garden, 

 but in diminished numbers, and during the next few days the 

 species was only observed occasionally. During the first 

 fortnight of July the weather at Palermo was exceptionally 

 cool for the season, northerly or north-westerly breezes pre- 

 vailing most of the time. On the 10th of July the breeze 

 was particularly fresh. 



According to information received from various sources, 

 Crossbills were seen in considerable numbers on the 10th 

 and 11th of July throughout the entire plain of Palermo, as 

 well as in the neighbouring districts. About that date they 

 appear to have also been observed in the vicinity of Trapani 

 and Marsala, whence examples of the species were for- 

 warded to me. Towards the end of July a good many 

 individuals were reported as having been seen at Syracuse, 

 as well as at Lentini and other localities on the east coast of 

 Sicily. 



Later, during the month of August, fresh arrivals of 

 the species were observed throughout the plain of Palermo, 

 as also in the more inland districts of Corleone, San Giuseppe 

 d' Jato, and Piana dei Greci. Crossbills appear to have been 

 observed, at intervals, throughout the entire month of 

 August in the neighbourhood of Palermo. 



