( 332 ) 

 THE CROSSBILL AS A BRITISH BIRD. 



BY 



H. F. WITHERBY. 



Since the recent irruption of the Common Crossbill 

 {Loxia curvirostra curvirostra) I have been at some pains 

 to make out the true status of the Crossbill as a British 

 bird, and for this purpose I have made a somewhat care- 

 ful digest of the records of nesting and of the remarks 

 on occurrences of the bird in the various local faunas, as 

 well as in standard works, and the conclusions I have 

 reached are set out below. 



With regard to the records of nesting, it must always 

 be borne in mind that the Crossbill migrates in its 

 juvenile plumage and in family-parties, and I know of 

 places where it appears in such parties regularh' in June 

 and Jul}' ; but these birds do not breed in these localities. 

 and are as certainly migrants as are the Fieldfares and 

 Redwings which appear a few months later. The migra- 

 tion of these birds in their juvenile plumage is contrary 

 to our experience of other Passerine birds, and this fact 

 has seldom been recognized by those who have considered 

 the presence of Crossbills in family-parties to be good 

 evidence of their having bred in the neighbourhood. 

 Such birds may very well have crossed the North Sea, 

 and so long as they can fly well and can feed themselves, 

 their presence in a neighbourhood is no proof that they 

 were bred there. 



Nor is the mere presence of adult birds in the breeding- 

 season a sure sign that they are nesting in a locality, 

 because they undoubtedly frequentl}^ stay throughout 

 the 3'ear in a place without breeding ; and it also must be 

 remembered that they have been kno\Mi to nest in every 

 month of the year, and that their times of migrating are 

 in consequence rather uncertain. 



It is, therefore, most necessary to obtain actual proof 

 when Crossbills are suspected of nesting in a locality, 

 either by the discovery of the nest or by watching the 



