PARROT-CROSSBTLL. 



PASSERES. 



207 



FRINGILLID/E 



LOXIA PITYOPSITTACUS, Bechstein."* 

 THE PARROT-CROSSBILL. 



Loxia pityopsittacus. 



THE first notice of this bird's appearance in Britain is 

 that of Pennant who, in 1766, after remarking (Br. Zool. 

 p. 106) on the " two varieties " of Crossbill, of which 

 Edwards had accurately figured " the lesser kind " that he 

 had seen frequently, while the other was very rare, says : 

 " We received a male and female out of Shropshire^ which 

 were superior in size to the former, the bill remarkably thick 

 and short, more encurvated than that of the common kind, 

 and the ends more blunt/' This larger Crossbill, at. first 

 considered only a variety of the common bird, has for many 

 years received specific recognition from the most approved 

 authors and its claim thereto need not be discussed here. 



Since the time of Pennant, many examples of the Parrot- 



* Loxia pytiopsiltacus (by mistake) Kechstein, Orn. Taschenk i. p. 106(1802). 

 VOL. II. E E 



