PHE CROSSBILEL 
LOXIA CURVIROSTRA 
LocaL names in surrounding counties : 
Stratus 1n British AvirAunaA: A rather rare and local 
resident, breeding in many districts, especially in Scotland, 
but best known as an irregular wanderer in winter in 
small flocks. 
RapraL DisTRIBUTION WITHIN FIFTEEN MILES OF ST. 
Paut’s: Of all the species that pay casual visits to the 
Metropolitan area the Crossbill is one of the most erratic 
and irregular. It has been known to breed in at least 
three of the Metropolitan counties—Surrey, Kent, and 
Essex—but I am not aware of any reliable instance within 
the fifteen-mile radius. It isonly as an autumn and winter 
visitor that the Crossbill, at uncertain intervals, is ob- 
served within the suburbs of the Metropolis. It has then 
been recorded from Norwood, Dulwich, and Wimbledon, 
south of the Thames, and from Epping, Hampstead, and 
the Harrow district ae of that river. The Crossbill 
is a bird that cannot easily be mistaken or overlooked ; 
consequently we must attribute the paucity of records 
to its scarcity. It may appear any season, and in unusual 
numbers, like the Waxwing, and its absence hitherto 
from a locality cannot be taken as an indication that 
the bird is not likely to visit it. 
The bird-lover fortunate enough to meet with the 
Crossbill within the London area will experience no 
difficulty in identifying it by its crossed mandibles. It is 
also by no means shy during its winter sojourn in our 
southern counties, over which it roams in parties, or 
larger flocks. Indeed, at all times this species seems 
more or less gregarious, and even in summer parties of 
male birds have frequently been observed. In their 
actions on the trees they closely resemble Tits or Siskins, 
183 
