EUROPEAN WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL. 31 



Suffolk. One example came to my knowledge that had 

 been killed near Derby, where it was seen in company with 

 Fieldfares. 



That these various examples are all so many European 

 White-winged Crossbills I am unable to state, the dis- 

 tinctions between the two species not being generally 

 known ; but I can express with confidence my opinion 

 upon five birds now before me. I am in possession of two 

 that were shot near Carlisle, and lent to me for my use in 

 this work by Captain G. J. Johnson, of Walton House. 

 Mr. Henry Doubleday has also favoured me with the loan 

 of three others : one shot by himself in his own garden at 

 Epping, a young bird ; a second killed at Thetford ; and 

 the third in the vicinity of Carlisle, where a small flock of 

 six or seven made their appearance, several of which were 

 obtained. 



But little of the habits of this particular species appears 

 to be known. Professor Nilsson, in his Scandinavian 

 Fauna, says, writing from Lund, " Not more than two 

 specimens of this pretty little Crossbill have been taken 

 with us ; but it appears that they are not unfrequently 

 seen in central Sweden among the Crossbills which arrive 

 in the months of October and November. Its manners 

 are like those of the other Crossbills, but it has a different 

 call -note, and a different song." 



In the youngest bird I have seen, the upper mandible 

 is dark brown ; the under mandible pale brown, short, and 

 but little crossed over beyond the upper ; head, neck, back, 

 and wing- coverts, greyish green ; the points of both sets 

 of wing-coverts tipped with white, but the colour is not 

 so bright, and the space occupied by it is of smaller ex- 

 tent than in older birds ; the rump greenish yellow ; wing- 

 primaries greyish black ; tertials tipped with dull white ; 

 tail-feathers greyish black, with narrow margins of yellow- 



