PARROT- CROSSBILL. 209 



I am indebted to him for being able to figure its sternum to 

 show its difference in size from that of the common bird. 

 Mr. Bond possesses three examples, one shot with others out 

 of a flock near Lymington in March, 1842, and two obtained 

 near Christchurch twenty years later. Newman saw one, 

 said to have been killed at Harrow January 21st, 1850 

 (Zool. p. 2770) ; Doubleday records (Zool. p. 7759) three 

 shot near Epping, September 20th, 1861 ; and Dr. Bree 

 (Zool. p. 8032) had three brought to him, February 

 21st, 1862, which had been just killed near Colchester. 

 According to Mr. Harting also a pair were shot at 

 Southgate, in Middlesex, in November 1864, of which the 

 male is now in Mr. J. H. Gurney's collection. In Scotland 

 two were obtained, according to Jardine, in Koss (prior to 

 1833), one of which came into his possession and the other 

 into Selby's, where it served to illustrate that gentleman's 

 work as well as the later editions of Bewick's. Mr. Gray 

 says he has a very characteristic specimen, which was killed 

 with a stone out of a flock on the shores of Wemyss Bay in 

 the spring of 1862. About the determination of all these 

 examples no doubt need be felt. 



The habits of this bird, so far as has been ascertained, 

 agree so closely with those of the commoner Crossbill that 

 little needs to be said of them ; but it is to be observed that 

 in the parts of Sweden where it has been known to breed, 

 its appearance scarcely ever coincides with that of Loxia 

 curvirostra, and it is always the rarer of the two, feeding, 

 according to Wheelwright who is herein corroborated by 

 Taczanovski, more upon the seeds of the Scotch fir, while 

 the smaller form is said to prefer those of the spruce. 

 According to the Editor's experience the manners of the 

 two birds do not differ, and the only fact in those of the 

 larger form which he had not before observed in the smaller, 

 was its constantly coming to drink and bathe (the season 

 happened to be very dry) even in the foul water that had 

 drained from a yard in which cattle were penned. 



The geographical range of the Parrot- Crossbill is much 

 more limited than that of the ordinary form. Its home 



