210 BRITISH BIKUS. 



continental Crossbills in having- a duller coloration in 

 both sexes, while the bill was, as a rule, less elongated 

 and less pointed, and often slig'htly higher. It has been 

 pointed out to me since that so few Crossbills breed 

 regularly in England that it is not likely that they form 

 a special race ; moreover, I must admit that I have hardly 

 seen British examples shot near the nest. On the other 

 hand, the differences which I have pointed out are obvious 

 when comjDaring our series in the Tring Museum, and they 

 are evidently not due to stages of plumage. Crossbills 

 are essentially nomadic, but I do not think they are true 

 migrants anywhere, and I must hold that the flocks of 

 Crossbills observed in England are hatched in England or 

 Scotland, and not for a moment do I believe that they are 

 migrants from Scandinavia or Central Europe. I have, 

 however, received Crossbills from Scotland, which are not 

 L. c. scotica, but L. c. anglicn. Therefore it is quite 

 possible that both these races breed in Scotland. It is to 

 be hoped that our Scottish ornithologists will make 

 obsei'vations and clear up these questions as to whether 

 both forms breed in Scotland, whether side by side or in 

 different districts, in the lowlands or the highlands, etc. 

 I shall be pleased to examine series from various places. 

 At present we must admit in Europe and the Mediterranean 

 countries : — 



Loxia 2>ityopsittacus : Northern Europe. 



Loxia curvirostra curvirostra : Xorth and Central Europe 

 generally ; Northern Asia. 



Loxia curvirostra hispana: Spain; nothing exact is known 

 about the distribution. 



Loxia curvirostra halearica : Balearic Islands. 



Loxia curvirostra anglica: England (and Scotland). 



Loxia curvirostra scotica : Scotland. 



Loxia curvirostra guillemardi : Cyprus ; a very distinct 

 form. 



Loxia curvirostra poliogyna : Tunis and Algiers. 



Loxia leucoptera hifasciata and, exceptionally, L. leucoptera 

 leucoptera (Viig. 2^cd. Fauna, I., p. l"2o). 



