426 THE COMMON CROSSBILL. 



females as early as June, it does away with the assumption of 

 having more than one brood in the year, unless they breed in 

 autumn and winter, as some authors say they do ; and, as fir 

 cones (on which they feed) are found all year, their breeding 

 need not be retarded like those birds which rely on flies or 

 fruit to feed their young. Mr Hancock says — " These vagrant 

 birds build their nests wherever they happen to be at the 

 breeding season ; and Temminck states they have eggs " at all 

 seasons of the year." On April 13th, 1839, two nests were got 

 in the Holt Forest, one with two, the other with four eggs ; 

 and one on the 7th with four young ones about a fortnight old, 

 which dates this nest early in March. They were all in the 

 thick tops of Scotch firs of thirteen years' growth. On 9th April 

 two were got near Cirencester on the lower branches of Scotch 

 firs, 10 feet up. One had two young ones which flew when 

 touched, so the eggs must have been laid in February. The 

 nest was made of dry larch twigs ; the base a thick mass of bent 

 and stalks of plants felted together with wool ; lined inside with 

 horse hair, nearly covering the other materials ; the base 

 extended in a loose way four inches round the outside of this 

 nest. The other had three young ones. On May 8th, 1850, 

 Mr Hancock got three nests in pines on the banks of the 

 Findhorn — the young flown ; and on March 10th, 1854, Mr 

 Charles St John got one in Koss-shire with four eggs. He also 

 shot the old birds. They were all on Scotch firs, about the 

 middle of the lowest branch, nearly hid by the foliage, about 

 10 feet up. He. saw one at Grantown so high it could not be 

 reached. The nests were about 5 inches diameter, 3 inside, 

 and 2f deep. The outside of dry Scotch fir twigs, loosely put 

 together, then moss and wool, with long vegetable fibres, and 

 lined inside with fine fibre instead of hair. The eggs, four or 

 five, are like the greenfinches — greyish-white, with red spots at 

 the larger end (some dotted over with small spots like those of 

 tits). The bird is less, but stouter than the greenfinch, with a 

 strong cross-pointed bill, admirably adapted to wrench fir cones 

 aside by a lateral expansion when inserted betwixt the scales 

 in search of the seeds which constitute its food. Its head and 

 the muscles attached to the bill being large give the head a 

 disproportioned look. The neck and legs are short but strong, 

 claws long and hooked, laterally grooved and pointed — well 

 fitted to take firm hold of the cones. When caged they climb 

 on the wires like parrots by bill and claws. The bill is nearly 

 ■as long as the head, and longer than the tarsus, curved at the 



