CROSSBILL. 139 



CROSSBILL. 



Loxia curvirostra. 



Roaming over the county in large or small companies^ 

 this species may be found occasionally, in any month of the 

 year, wherever there is a plantation, or even a clump, of fir- 

 trees. My earliest note refers to January 183G, when two 

 in the red, and one in the green plumage, were shot, out of 

 a Hock of about a dozen, at Nuthurst. In July 1838, a party 

 of about the same number visited a garden at Henfield, out 

 of which 1 shot one red and one green specimen, as they were 

 extracting the seeds from the cones of a Scotch fir. Tlieir 

 method of doing this is by inserting both mandibles between 

 the laminae of the cone, and giving a twist, when, 1 suppose, 

 the seed falls into the mouth, as I never could see anything 

 of it on the withdrawal of the beak. They remained in that 

 garden, or in the neighbourhood, for several days. On the 

 29th of the same month and year, my attention was attracted 

 by the shrill note of a little Hock of these birds as they Hew 

 over my head. Following them, I found about a dozen on 

 some larch firs ; and on the next day I again saw several in 

 the garden at Henfield. In August of the same year, I met 

 with them again at Uckfield, and the points of the bill of five 

 which I shot were much more elongated than in any I had 

 before seen. The red birds had a great admixture of orange- 

 yellow. In March 1840 one was brought me from St. 

 Leonards forest. This was in the red plumage, and was 

 moulting, the new feathers on the throat being of a light 

 orange-colour, as were the few which were expanded on the 

 breast. 



In February 1839, several were shot at Hurstpierpoint and 

 at Ringmer. 



