I30 A BOOK OF BIRDS 



a little hair fashioned into a shallow cup, in which the eggs are 

 laid. 



The Pine-grosbeak (Plate XXVII. fig. 7) and the Crossbill 

 (Plate XXVI. fig. 5) are two closely allied birds of peculiar interest. 

 The first named is a very rare visitor to Great Britain, and must 

 be sought in the far north — in the region near the Arctic circle wherever 

 fir-trees abound. Here it contrives to flourish, feeding on buds, 

 birch catkins, seeds, and berries, varied by such insects as come 

 within its reach. 



The Crossbill, on the other hand, is a resident species in Great 

 Britain, though extremely local in its distribution. During the autumn 

 and spring it may be met with in small flocks, in pine-woods in the 

 southern and eastern countries of England ; but it is more abundant 

 in the north, especially in Scotland, where it breeds annually. In 

 Ireland it is also a breeding species. 



Among birds the Crossbill holds a unique place, and this because 

 the upper and lower jaws cross one another at their tips — hence the 

 name *' Crossbill." By this peculiarity they are enabled to wrench 

 apart the pine cones, and abstract therefrom the seeds which form 

 the bulk of their food. Before the beautiful red plumage, which 

 distinguishes the male, is assumed, a livery of orange-yellow is worn. 



The Finch tribe are greatly sought after as cage-birds, and this 

 because, being seed-eaters, they are more easily fed. But besides 

 our native birds, a number of exotic species are also kept. Of these 

 the most familiar are perhaps the Paradise Wydah-bird (Plate 

 XXVIII. fig. i), the AvADUVAT (Plate XXVIII. fig. 2), the Java 

 Sparrow (Plate XXVIII. fig. 5), and the Cardinal (Plate XXVIII. 

 fig. 7). The two first named are " Weaver-birds," which, 

 according to some authorities, should be reckoned as forming a dis- 

 tinct family — the Ploceidae — though these admit that this family 

 is " hardly " to be distinguished from the Fringillidse. 



The Paradise Wydah-bird is a South African species, found 

 on swampy ground where reeds and long grasses flourish. Kaffir 

 children take them in numbers with limed twigs, and they also 

 commonly capture them by running them down, the poor birds 

 being hampered by their long tails. During the season of courtship 

 these birds perform most wonderful evolutions in the air. 



