WILD SPORTS OF THE HIGHLANDS 



low, as he flits to and fro, or climbs, parrot-like, up and 

 down the branches; and the cock, with his red plumage 

 shining in the sun, has more the appearance of some East- 

 ern or tropical bird than any other of our sober northern 

 finches. When engaged in feeding, these birds are often so 

 intent on their occupation that they will allow a horsehair 

 snare, attached to the end of a long twig, to be slipped 

 round their necks before they fly away. In captivity they 

 are very tame, but restless, and are constantly tearing with 

 their strong mandibles at the woodwork and wires of their 

 cage. 



Altogether the crossbill is a gay, lively bird, and, I hope, 

 likely to increase and become a regular inhabitant of this 

 country, as the numerous plantations of fir and larch which 

 are daily being laid out, afford them plenty of their favour- 

 ite and natural food.* 



*The author's hope has been fulfilled, for the crossbill (Zcj<r/ai"«r»»raj-/ra)has become 

 much more numerous as a resident species in the north of Scotland than formerly, doubt- 

 less owing to the increased area under coniferous trees. Indeed, on one large estate in 

 Koss-shire, where unusal care has been bestowed upon the woods, war has been declar- 

 ed against these beautiful birds, because of the amount of seed consumed by them, which 

 interferes with the natural regeneration of the forest. The resident flocks of crossbills 

 are often augmented by immigrant flights from the Continent, for these birds have to 

 range far and wide in search of their natural food. Sometimes they go hopelessly astray, 

 as when, a few years ago, several of them found their way to the outer Hebrides. 



The peculiar bill, whence this bird derives its name, appears like an awkward mal- 

 formation, but is indeed an instrument of peculiarly delicate adjustment for the purpose 

 to which it is habitually put, namely, riving asunder fir-cones and large fruits. "The 

 articulation of the mandible [the lower jaw], "says Professor Newton, " to the quadrate- 

 bone is such as to allow of a very considerable amount of /a/^riz/ play, and, by a partic- 

 ular arrangement of the muscles which move the mandible, it comes to pass that so soon 

 as the bird opens its mouth the point of the mandible is brought immediately opposite 

 that of the maxilla [upper jaw], which itself is moved t'£-^/«Va//)', instead of crossing or 

 overlapping it, the usual position when the mouth is closed. The two points thus meet- 

 ing, the bill is inserted between the scales or into the pome; but on opening the mouth 

 still more widely, the lateral motion of the mandible is once more brought to bear with 



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