362 NESTING OF THE CROSS-BILL. 



for it is hardly larger than the bullfinch, and the head is not at all disproportionate in length 

 to the rest of the body. 



This bird is also very fond of the seeds of cone-bearing trees, and haunts the pine-forests 

 in great numbers. While engaged in eating, it breaks the cones from branches, and holding 

 them firmly in its feet after the fashion of the parrots, inserts its beak below the scales, 

 wrenches them away, and with its bone- tipped tongue scoops out the seed. They get their 

 beaks under the scales by partially opening their mouths, so as to bring the extremities of the 

 bill immediately over each other, thus forming a kind of wedge. The points of the beak are 

 then easily inserted like a wedge under the scales, and by suddenly drawing the lower man- 

 dible sideways, the scale is detached from the cone. 



The power of the beak is quite extraordinary, as the bird evinces no difficulty in breaking 

 open almonds while in the shell, and getting at the kernel. This feat is achieved by pecking 

 a hole in the shell, pushing the point of the beak into the aperture, and then wrenching the 

 shell asunder by a sudden turn of the bill. The apparently clumsy beak is thus shown to be 

 an apparatus adapted in the most perfect manner to the wants of its owner, and to be capable, 

 not only of exerting great force on occasions, but of picking up little seeds as well as could be 

 done by a sparrow or a canary. Indeed, the bird can shell hemp and canary seed with perfect 

 ease and readiness. 



As might be gathered from the description of the habits of the Cross-bill, the beak and all 

 its attendants are of very great strength, the muscles on each side of the face being very con- 

 spicuous for their size and development. The position of the two mandibles is not at all 

 uniform, nor does it depend, according to some persons, on the sex of the bird. Sometimes 

 the upper mandible is turned to the right and the lower to the left, while in other individuals 

 the reverse arrangement is followed. In either case, the lower mandible is that which is used 

 for the wrenching asunder of the coverings which hide its food. 



The Cross-bill is not common in England, although when it does make its appearance 

 it generally comes over in flocks. Usually, it consorts in little assemblies consisting , of the 

 parents and their young, but it has often been known to associate in considerable numbers. 

 It is a very shy bird, and has a peculiar knack of concealing itself at a moment's notice, press- 

 ing itself closely upon the branches at the least alarm, and remaining without a movement or 

 a sound to indicate its position until the danger has departed. 



Mr. Yarrell mentions that on one occasion he had succeeded in shooting seven of these 

 birds upon a tree, and as they still hung upon the boughs, one of the party volunteered to 

 climb the tree in search of them. When he had got among the branches, a flock of eighteen 

 or twenty Cross-bills suddenly flew out, uttering a shrill, sharp cry of alarm. Sometimes flocks 

 of great extent have been noticed in England, upwards of a hundred individuals having been 

 seen in a single flock. 



In Sweden and Norway the Cross-bill is a very common bird ; and the north of Europe 

 seems to be their proper breeding-place. 



The nests are always placed in rather close proximity, so that if one nest is found, others 

 are sure to be at no great distance. The nest is made of little fir-twigs, mosses, and wool, and 

 is of rather a loose texture. It is always found upon the part of the branch that is nearest 

 to the stem. The fir is the tree that is almost always, if not invariably, employed by this bird as 

 the nesting-place. The eggs are generally three, but sometimes four in number, and are some 

 thing like those of the greenfinch, but rather larger. 



The nest is generally built at the end of February or the beginning of March, and the 

 young are remarkable, from the fact that their beaks are not crossed like those of the parents, 

 but made much like those of any other young bird, the crossing not taking place until they 

 are attaining an age and development which will enable them to shift for themselves. 



The color of this bird is variable in the extreme, seeming to depend on external circum- 

 stances for its difference of tint and depth of hue. 



The adult male assumes several varieties of tint, the plumage being colored with red, 

 yellow, or orange, which latter hue, as Mr. Yarrell well observes, is partly covered by the 

 mixture of the other two. His description of the different kinds of plumage is very interesting : 



