2oo Wayne on the American Crossbill in South Carolina. [October 



males, and eight females ; on February 9, four males ; on Feb- 

 ruary 11, a male and a female; February 12, four males. The 

 result of my collecting was twenty-three examples, — fourteen 

 males, and nine females. I studied with much care the habits of 

 the Crossbill. 



They go in flocks of from six to forty individuals, and fly in 

 the manner of the American Goldfinch (Spimis tristis), but 

 their flight is generally very high and greatly protracted ; their 

 note while on wing is very similar to the cry of young chickens. 

 They always alight in the tops of the pines, and each individual 

 then gets a burr, to see if it contains 'mast.' I have seen as many 

 as three birds on one burr. I shot several out of a tree, and the 

 rest did not even take wing but kept on feeding. They frequent 

 only the pine woods, and feed wholly on the seeds contained in 

 the burrs of the long-leaved and short-leaved pines. I examined 

 the crops of every bird I killed, and found them crammed with 

 the seeds of the pine. 



I have shot them from the tops of the dead pines, among the 

 burrs ; but they rarely resort to the dead pines unless they arc 

 frightened by Hawks. 



The Crossbills were at Yemassee in large numbers — over a 

 thousand — where they arrived about the last of November, and 

 were still there as late as February 15. 



The weather for a week in February was very hot and sultry, 

 the thermometer registering So° in the shade for several days, 

 and in the sun would probably have reached 90 , but Crossbills 

 were then as thick as Blackbirds. The only reason I can see for 

 their remaining there for so long a time is that the 'mast' was to 

 be found in abundance. 



I cannot refer to a single record of the occurrence of this bird . 

 in South Carolina, much less on the sea-board, except that given 

 by Audubon, wdio refers to one shot out of a flock near Charles- 

 ton by his son. This, so far as I am aware, is the only record 

 for South Carolina, save the one I give. 



The credit of adding this bird to the fauna of South Carolina 

 is due to Mr. Gregorie, for had he not shot and sent the speci- 

 men to Dr. Manigault, I would never have had the pleasure of 

 making the present record. 



Mr. Gregorie says that the Crossbills were abundant at Ye- 

 massee in the winter of 1S72 or 1873, but were not in such num- 



