THE 1909 IRRUPTION OF THE CROSSBILL. 327 



During the latter part of July, when Crossbills were 

 so much in evidence in England, their numbers were 

 already decreasing in the Scottish Islands, most of the 

 birds leaving by the end of August, and probably moving 

 southwards, though a few lingered on to the end of 

 September or early October. In England they apparently 

 continued to increase well into August, but they were so 

 constantly moving about locally that any larger move- 

 ments passed unobserved. In some places, however, 

 they passed on again at once, presumably not finding 

 suitable feeding-grounds, while coastal movements were 

 noted even so late as the end of September and the 

 beginning of October. The only record from the 

 Isle of Man was on August 14th. From this time 

 onwards, Crossbills seem to have been plentiful in 

 nearly all the pine-wood regions visited by observers ; 

 while ma.ny smaller coniferous plantations and isolated 

 trees were visited from time to time. Records of the 

 presence of the birds at some time through the winter were 

 received from all the English counties except Cumberland, 

 Nottinghamshire,Huntingdonshire, Cambridgeshire, Dorset- 

 shire,De vonshire , and Cornwall ; and in Wales from Denbigh- 

 shire, Merionethshire, Montgomeryshire, and Breconshire. 



It seems probable that the absence of records from 

 Cornwall and the fewness of those from Wales, were really 

 due to scarcity of Crossbills in the western parts of the 

 country, and not only to lack of observers ; it should be 

 noted that the only record from Devonshire was of a 

 single bird, killed while the immigration was proceeding, 

 and that one of the records from Merionethshire was of a 

 flock at the same period ; the records from Denbighshire 

 and Montgomeryshire are from places not far from the 

 English border ; the locality for the Breconshire record 

 is not given ; so that only the records from Denbighshire 

 (H. E. Forrest, III., 259, and T. Ruddy, HI., 409) and 

 the remaining record from Merionethshire (H. E. Forrest, 

 III., 259) give evidence of the presence of the birds far 

 into Wales. 



