CROSSBILLS. 199 



frequenf the great forests of pine and fir trees, the seeds of which 

 form their principal subsistence. These seeds are detached by 

 means of the strong lever they possess in the remarkable forma- 

 tion of their bill, which is admirably adapted for wrenching 

 asunder the scales of the cones ; it also enables them to slit open 

 apples and pears for the purpose of obtaining the pips, and the)' 

 thus occasionally commit great hav^oc in orchards. 



Their nest is built among the branches of pine trees, and ii^ 

 composed of straws, with a few twigs upon the outside, and a 

 lining of fine grass and hair within. The young birds, while in 

 the nest, do not present the peculiar crossing of the mandibles 

 characteristic of the adult, this being unnecessary to them so long 

 as they are supplied with food by their parent. In confinement 

 these birds are very parrot-like in many of their actions, fre- 

 quently climbing about the wires of the cage with their hooked 

 bill; hence they are sometimes called German parrots. In Ger- 

 many, where they are abundant, crossbills constitute a favourite 

 article of food, and are regularly exposed for sale in the markets. 



The Common Crossbill {Loxia curvirostra) is by no means of unfre- 

 quent occurrence in the northern parts of our own country. These birds feed 

 principally on the seeds of various kinds of firs, which they extract from the 

 cone by the joint action of their beak and tongue. The alder and other trees 

 are sometimes visited, and they have been noticed to resort to thistles and 

 pick out the seeds from them. Their mode of operation is this : they first fix 

 themselves across the cone, then bring the points of their mandibles from a 

 crossed or lateral position to be immediately over each other ; in this reduced 

 compass they insinuate their beak between the scales, and then opening them, 

 not in the usual manner, but by drawing the inferior mandible sideways, force 

 open the scales. At this stage the end of the tongue becomes necessary, 

 and this organ is no less admirably adapted for the service required. While 

 the points of the beak press the scale from the body of the cone, the tongue 

 is enabled to direct and insert its cutting scoop underneath the seed, and the 

 food thus dislodged is transferred to the mouth. When the mandibles are 

 separated laterally in the performance of this operation, the bird has an unin- 

 terrupted view of the seed in the cavity, with the eye on that side to which 

 the under mandible is curved, and thus can direct the movements of its 

 tongue with the greatest precision. The beak of the crossbill, then, far from 

 being a defect in the organization of this bird, is a perfect instrument always 

 at its owner's command ; faultless alike in design and execution, and exqui- 

 sitely adapted to its work — not an easy one — of performing, by a single pro- 

 cess, the offices of splitting, opening, and securing the contents of a fir-cone ; 

 and he must be a bold man who would venture to suggest an improvement in 

 the mechanism. 



" The nest of the crossbill is placed on two small branches of a young 

 spruce-pine tree, or at the end of a leafy bough, often at a considerable height 

 from the ground. It is circular, and composed of the small twigs of the 

 spruce-pine. This nest is of large dimensions, the diameter being two feet or 



