THE BIRDS OF HELIGOLAND 409 



the seeds. 1 myself, however, have never yet seen them on this 

 plant, which now, owing to the very extensive cultivation, has been 

 almost extirpated. Aeuckens, however, tells me that he has for- 

 merly met with the bird on large thistles, and it is therefore very 

 likely that it also resorted to burrs. The passion and acuteness of 

 Heligolanders for finding suitable nicknames leave no doubt that, 

 in former times, when the Crossbills were abundant here, the birds 

 used to resort by preference to burr-bushes, which at that time 

 were equally plentiful. The Heligolandish name for burrs is 

 ' borren,' hence the name ' Borrfink.' 



Naumann, in reference to the next-mentioned smaller species, 

 says that in the absence of other food, it will content itself with 

 the seeds of thistles and burrs. Although attempts to cultivate 

 pines and firs on this island have been made repeatedly for 

 more than eighty years, these have never yet succeeded. And 

 the Crossbills which visit Heligoland, no longer finding their 

 usual and formerly exclusive food, consequently avoid the island 

 more and more. 



I have never yet myself obtained the Parrot Crossbill here. 

 Reymers, however, possessed a fine male example. In former times 

 the bird undoubtedly used to visit the island, among nights of its 

 near relatives, which was especially likely, as it has been frequently 

 killed in a country so near to us as England. 



The home of this species appears to be restricted to the coni- 

 ferous forests of Scandinavia and northern Russia. 



211. Common Crossbill [FICHTEN-KREUZSCHNABEL]. 

 LOXIA CURVIROSTRA, Linn. 



Heligolandish : Borrfink = Burr-Bird. 



Loxia curvirostra. Naumann, iv. 356. 



Common Crossbill Dresser, iv. 127. 



Bec-croisi des pins. Temminck, Manuel, L 328, iii. 242. 



As has been already mentioned in reference to the preceding 

 species, the Common Crossbill was, as recently as about thirty years 

 ago, a very common bird, flocks of from twenty to fifty individuals 

 being, during August, a by no means rare occurrence. However, 

 since the extirpation of the poplars, which at that time were 

 numerous, and formed almost exclusively the resort of these birds, 

 Crossbills are hardly ever seen. Solitary individuals three, or 

 at most five may indeed at times be seen flying at a considerable 

 height across the island, giving loud utterance to their call-note, 



