94 A HANDBOOK OF EUROPEAN BIRDS. 
brown ; d:2/ (with mandibles crossing one another at the tips) 
dull horn-brown ; legs, feet and irides dark brown. Length 6 
inches ; culmen 0°75 ; height ofghtl/ at base o'45; wing 4; tail 
2°0\; ‘tarsus o°b5. | 
Adult Male (in captivity): Prevailing colour green- 
ish-yellow, becoming purer yellow on the rump. 
Adult Female: Differs from the male by being chiefly 
greyish-brown, washed on head, back and breast with light 
greenish-yellow, brightest and clearest on the rump. 
Young in first plumage: Greyish-white both above and 
beneath, conspicuously striped all over with dark brown and 
washed.on back and rump with pale green. 
Distribution: Breeds in the pine forest regions throughout 
most of Europe, also in Northern Asia. 
Habitat: Conifer forests, fir plantations. 
Note.—In Scandinavia and Northern Russia (occasionally straggling as 
far west as Great Britain) a larger billed race of Crossbills is found. In 
their coloration and changes of plumage the two forms are almost 
identical, but in one the height of the bill at base is 0-45 whilst in the 
other it measures in some birds fully 0°6. This larger billed bird (the 
Parrot Crossbill) has by many authors received specific rank under 
the name of ZL. gztyopsittacus. 
TWO-BARRED CROSSBILL. 
Loxia bifasciata (C. LZ. Brehm). 
Adult Male: In general tint very much resembling Z. 
curvirostra, but more mottled above owing to the dark bases 
of the feathers showing through ; the innermost secondaries, 
greater and median wing-coverts conspicuously tipped with white ; 
bill, legs, feet and irides brown. Length 6°25 inches; culmen 
o'7 ; height of bill at base 043 ;-wing 3°38; tail 2°75 5 tarsus 
G02. 
Adult Female and Young: May be distinguished by 
their white-tipped wing-coverts. 
Distribution: Resident in North-eastern Europe and ~ 
Northern Asia, occurring casually in Central and Western 
Europe. 
Habitat: Resembles that of Z. curvirostra. 
Note.—The American White-winged Crossbill, which has occasionally ap- 
peared in England, has a more slender bill and darker scapulars. 
es 
— 
