////; CR os*. tut. i.. 

 Tmi>l " hn ! :: ' .. n . ii ;.. , 



retir-d part- of woods or copses, and th. perhaps, find th,- n.-*t hidden ?ery careful h 



:nv:i\ in H..I,,,. leafy bnmrli at no great height fn. m th-^n.m.d. A thick l-u-h isaTeryfav 

 -j.r f<>f ili>- nest ; hut I have more than once found II..-MI in luu*l branches, so slender thai 

 th.-ir w-L'ht has u-nt ili,tn aside. The eggs an- marked with deep rlolei 



:tn.| purpl- l.rown -tr-ak- ami mottling upon a gm-ni-.li whit- Around, and are easily reoog- 



ni/.ilil- l.y tli.- nior- ,,r less ]-rfv{ rim; which th-y form round th.- larger .-n.| ,,f tl w . 



Tli** eggs are generally ti\- i:i inunlN-r. 



nt- ar- \.-ry f..n.l ..f their youiiir. an.l n-tain th-rn through th- aiitiitnn and 

 wint-r. tint ca-tiag them off until (In- m-xt 1.1,-,-diiu; nenson. Th.- families av-mM.- together in 

 littl.- tl.M-ks only fix,- or six in numU-r, uiul may be seen thin- ;i lN,,it in company, hut never 

 associating with hinittof any <>th<-r ^[M-,-J,.>. 



In riinliii.-iiH-nt it i-. a v.-ry j.-alous anl withal a incwt -milmti\.- liinl, not easily .lauiitixl, 



ami tiirhtim; witli its fi.ll..-|.rix,.u.-r-< till mi tin- ..tln-r is vaiujuinh,. I. , ,.\,-n kill'.xl. These 



lunls have been known t.. liirht continually with oth.-r inhaliitants <.f th- xnm- i-ac--. ami -v.-n 

 to kill tin- -oliltinch in >|.it- of IPS loiiir )H,ii,t^l |.i|| and hL'h M.irit. Many penoos who 

 k.--i> Hulltin. -li-'s tin,! th-ir ]>lunia^i- -Mini: ^nulually ilark-r until at la-t it a.Hsuni.-s a Mai-k 

 hue. Thus change of color i- mostly i-nnluc^l l,\ two caii-v-s ,,n ( - th' conlini-iiu-nt in a Mimky 

 atmonphfiv. and tin- oih.-r th.- presence of h.-mp-seed in th- fo.N|. H.-nip- .!. uh<-n t<> 

 lil. rally j,nv-n, has oft.-n this effect ii|-.n tin- cap- l.inln, and evon tho %lit color- of tl,,. -,,1,1- 

 linch will ilarkrii into iliniry hhu-k ami hrown uml.-r its inllm-m-.'. The reason of so run 

 phenomenon is not known, but it is virtually a j.rolil.-in which, wh.-n ^.U.^l, , Ma y IM- of oon- 

 -i'l'-iiil>l" valm-. 



The color of the adult male bird Ls a follows : 



Th- base of the neck and the back are beautiful slaty-gray, which nan been known to tak- 

 a roseate hue. The top of the head, the givat.-r in- coverts, the upjier tail -co vert**, and tin- 

 chin an- j-tty -hlack. ami the tips of the wing-coverts are snowy-white, so that th-\ form 

 a bold white bar across the wing. Th> quill-f.-ath-rs of the winp ami tail an- il^-j! black with 

 a penvptibl- \ioh-t lu-tn-. ami th- si-h-sof th- h-a.l, th- throat, breast, ami aUloni-n ar- li^ht 

 and nith-r ]>-ciiliar ml with a slight -h tnut tinge. As is the case with most birds, varieties 

 are not uncommon. Th- l-ill i- <l.--|i -liinini: black. 



The fenial- is not so brilliantly <-<>lon><l a- h-r mat-, th- ^r.iy of th- bark b-ini: of a rather 

 din-y cast, and the red of the under jxininns U-in- of a purplish-brown hu-. Voun- binls are 

 oolorwl like the female, except that the head is not black. The total length of the bin! rather 

 exceeds six inches. 



THE CROSS-BILLS, THE PLANT-CUTTERS, AND THE COLIES. 



THE CROSS-BILLS are most remarkable bird*, and hav- long been celebrated on account of 

 the singular form of beak from which they d-riv- their name. 



In all these binls, the two mandibles compl.-t-ly cross one another, so that at lir-t sight 

 th- striictnn> appears to be a malformation, ami to prohibit the bird from picking up seeds or 

 feeding itIf in any way. But wh-n the Cross-bill is seen f--ding, it speedily proves itself to 

 be favored with all the ordinary faculti-s of birds, and to be as capable of obtaining its food as 

 any of th- -trai-ht-U-aked !>: 



The food of the Cross -bill con-Ms almost, if not wholly, of seeds, which it obtains in 

 a very curious manner. It is very fond of apple-pips, and settling on the tree where ripe 

 apples are to be found, attack- th- fruit with its beak, and in a very f-w iiiom- nts ruts a hole 

 fi.irh into the "core," from which it picks out th- s.--<l- daintly and eats them, reject im: the 

 rii- pulpy fruit in which they had been -nv-lo|.ed. ' .-vs-bill is rather a voracious 



bird, the havoc which it will make in an on-hard may U- imagined. 



Soim- i-r^n-say that th- bird is able to cut an apple in two with a single bite ; Lot I 

 should fam y that in such cases the apple must be of the smallest and the bi. largest. 



