COMMON CROSSBILL AND PARROT CROSSBILL. dl 
LOXIA CURVIROSTRA. 
ComMMOoN CROSSBILL. 
Loxia loxia, Briss. Orn. iii. p. 829 (1760). 
Loxia curvirostra, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 299 (1766); et auctorum plurimorum— 
Gmelin, Scopoli, Latham, Bonaparte, Schlegel, Degland § Gerbe, Temminck, Newton, 
Dresser, Sc. 
Crucirostra europea, Leach, Syst. Cat. Mamm. Sc. Brit. Mus. p. 12 (1816). 
Crucirostra abietina, Meyer, Vig. Liv- u. Esthl. p. 72 (1815). 
Loxia europea (Leach), Macgill. Hist. Brit. B. i. p. 417 (1837). 
Crucirostra curvirostra (Linn.), var. balearica, Homeyer, Journ. Orn. 1862, p. 256. 
Crucirostra balearica (Homeyer), Homeyer, Journ. Orn. 1864, p. 224. 
Loxia balearica (Homeyer), Newton, Zool. Record, 1864, p. 84. 
Loxia albiventris, Swinhoe, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1870, p. 437. 
LOXIA CURVIROSTRA, var. PITYOPSITTACUS. 
PaRRoT CROSSBILL. 
Loxia curvirostra, var. y, Gmel. Syst. Nat. i. p. 843 (1788). 
Loxia pityopsittacus, Bechst. Orn. Taschenb. p. 106 (1802); et auctorum pluri- 
morum—Temminck, Bonaparte, Salvadori, Degland § Gerbe, Dresser, Newton, 
&e. 
Crucirostra pinetorum, Meyer, Vog. Liv- u. Esthl. p. 71 (1815). 
Crucirostra pityopsittacus (Bechst.), Brehm, Vog. Deutsch. p. 241 (1831). 
The Common Crossbill is a somewhat rare and local resident in our 
islands, but is best known as an irregular winter visitor, often appearing 
in large flocks ; and at this season of the year 1t has either been obtained 
or seen in every county. In Scotland it is a resident in some districts, 
and, according to Mr. Gray, breeds most numerously in the central 
counties. It is also well known as a winter visitor, often appearing in 
immense flocks, although it is not known to have visited any of the outer 
islands. In Orkney it is less regular in its appearance; but in the 
Shetlands, especially of late years, it has been frequently seen in large 
numbers, and was said by Saxby to have visited the islands every year 
between May and December during his residence at Unst. Of its 
breeding in England much has been recorded; and nests have so fre- 
quently been discovered in various parts of the country, that it is needless 
to enter into a detailed account of them. It has been known to breed in 
Devonshire, Somerset, Hants, Sussex, Kent, Surrey, Essex, Herts, Bed- 
ford, Norfolk, Suffolk, Gloucester, Yorkshire, Durham, Northumberland, 
and Cumberland. In Ireland, according to Thompson, the bird has long 
been known as an occasional visitor in late autumn or winter, leaving 
again early in the spring. He also states that it has bred there. 
The Parrot Crossbill was first noticed as a British bird by Pennant in 
