[appendix B.] birds of NORFOLK. 301 



dibles, and forked tail of the bird, I touched the nest 

 with my hand before she would leave it. I also obtained 

 another nest of four crossbills' eggs taken from a Scotch 

 fir not many yards off, on the 6th of April. I heard of 

 several other crossbills' nests of eggs lately taken by 

 boys. All the crossbills' nests and eggs which I have 

 seen, except that of March 23rd, 1885,^ resemble those 

 of the greenfinch, the nests being composed of Scotch 

 and other fir-twigs and dry grass, and lined with 

 rabbit's felt, occasionally a feather or two; most of 

 the greenfinches and other small birds' nests which, 

 happen to be built in the fir belts in the open rabbit 

 warrens are of the same materials. 



" Crossbills are not so much restricted in range in 

 the nesting season as I had supposed. They or their 

 torn fir cones may be found in most years in March in 

 several widely separated localities in Norfolk and Suf- 

 folk, probably nesting in some numbers in most of the 

 Scotch fir belts, and plantations, wherever that tree 

 forms the chief timber crop, and especially in open and 

 uncultivated lands." 



I regret to add, in the words of Mr. Norgate, 

 " wealthy collectors and dealers have caused great des- 

 truction of crossbills ; last year (1889) probably one 

 hundred have been killed ! " 



A nest which Mr. Norgate sent me is a very com- 

 pact structure, composed externally of a few fir twigs, 

 next to which are dried roots of grasses, succeeded by 

 fine blades of dry grass closely matted together and 

 thickly lined with rabbit's fur and a few feathers ; the 

 whole structure is about five and a-half inches across, 

 and the interior a trifle over two inches ; it was taken 

 on the 6th April, 1889, and contained four eggs. The 

 hen bird sat so close as to allow herself to be touched 

 on the nest, and a red cock bird joined the hen in flut- 

 tering round. 



Loxia pityopsittacus, Parrot Crossbill (vol i., 

 p. 239). Mr. J. H. Gurney, jun., and Colonel Butler, on 



* This nest was in an oak ; it was composed chiefly of the 

 inner bark of lime twigs, and was nearly as big as the nest of a 

 mistletoe thrush. 



