VoL i™ V ] General Notes. 225 



Nesting of the Red Crossbill (Loxia curvirostra minor) in Essex 

 County, Massachusetts. — Our part of Cambridge is not without keen- 

 eyed lads who devote spare hours to watching birds. To have them call 

 on me every now and then with eager questioning or fresh report concern- 

 ing things of local interest, is always pleasing and may also be instructive — 

 as happened only the other day when Lovell Thompson and Charles F. 

 Walcott came, bringing a nest of the Red Crossbill obtained by them last 

 spring at Marblehead. Just how it was found and taken is explained by 

 the following statement, written out, at my suggestion, by Lovell. 



"During the winter of 1916-1917 I visited Marblehead, Mass.; with my 

 friend Charles Walcott, several times. Each time we saw a flock of Red 

 Crossbills there. On April 22, 1917, we noticed two in pitch pines near a 

 house. Looking closer we found their nest, on a pine branch about eighteen 

 feet above the ground. The male Crossbill flew from the tree but when I 

 climbed it the female was on the nest and I got my hand within two feet 

 of her before she left it to fly away. There were two eggs in it, both whitish 

 with some dark markings. About a month later we visited the place again. 

 There was then nothing to be seen of the Crossbills and only one broken 

 egg shell remained in the* nest which we took and have since given to Mr. 

 Brewster." 



The nest above mentioned somewhat resembles that of a Song Sparrow, 

 being similarly bulky and deep-cupped, with thick walls mostly composed 

 of bleached grass-blades and weed stalks. But it has also a bristling outer 

 fringe of stiff twigs six to ten inches long, such as no Song Sparrow would 

 thus be likely to employ. Moreover its neat lining of fine, soft grasses 

 includes a few Crossbill feathers at least one of which, brick red in color, 

 must have come from an adult male bird. Their presence affords, of course, 

 convincing evidence as to the original ownership of the nest, thereby, 

 indeed, it is " self -identified." 



Two nests of the Red Crossbills in my collection from New Brunswick, 

 both accompanied by sets of eggs and skins of parent birds, are, unfortu- 

 nately, not well enough preserved to afford satisfactory comparison with 

 the Marblehead specimen. From it they differ conspicuously in general 

 coloring because abundantly garnished with grey-green Usnea moss of 

 which it has none. They are also less shapely and almost devoid of coarse 

 outer twigs but as a few of these remain in place their comparative absence 

 may have resulted from careless handling on the part of the collector. In 

 other respects all three nests seem essentially alike — at least as regards 

 their general plan of construction. 



In these days of innumerable bird watchers and voluminous bird litera- 

 ture it is difficult to make sure as to whether this or that is, or is not known 

 and recorded. But to the best of my recollection and belief no nest of a 

 Crossbill has ever before been found anywhere in eastern Massachusetts. 

 Hence my boy friends are entitled to much credit for discovering the 

 Marblehead one, while I am grateful to them both for so generously con- 

 tributing it to my collection. — William Brewster, Cambridge, Mass. 



