THE BIRD-LIFE OF LONDON 



their acrobatic movements being due to their eagerness 

 and desire to obtain berries and other seeds, the finest 

 of which often grow at the extremities of the slender 

 branches. Their flight is undulating ; and their twitter- 

 ing call-notes resemble those of the Linnet and other 

 Finches, with which they often consort. In the breeding 

 season the male has a sweet little song, uttered in a sub- 

 dued tone. The food of the Crossbill consists of the seeds 

 of conifers, the cones of which are easily broken by the 

 powerful crossed bill, various berries and small fruits, 

 the pips of apples and pears, and in summer insects and 

 larvae. The Crossbill has been found nesting as near to 

 London as Kent and Surrey, but it is very unlikely that 

 the student of London birds will ever be fortunate enough 

 to meet with its home. It is a very early breeder, and 

 retires chiefly to conifer woods and plantations for repro- 

 duction. The eggs are usually laid between February 

 and April. The nest, placed at various heights from the 

 ground in a fir- or spruce-tree, often on a flat branch some 

 distance from the trunk, is made of slender twigs, roots, 

 and dry grass, lined with wool, hair, and a few feathers, 

 closely resembling that of the Greenfinch. The four or 

 five eggs are so like those of that species that a further 

 description is unnecessary. Several nests are often found 

 quite close together in the same belt of timber. The old 

 birds are very secretive during the breeding season, and 

 he hen sits closely. 



The adult male Crossbill has most of the small feathers 

 of the body scarlet, most brilliant on the rump, and with a 

 brownish suffusion on the back; the wings and tail are 

 brown, the centre of the abdomen pale grey. Bill brown ; 

 tarsi and toes brown ; irides dark brown. Length 6 

 inches. The female is greenish yellow, with the wings 

 and tail similar in colour to those of the male. The 

 nestling is brown, palest on the abdomen, and streaked 

 above and below with darker brown. After their first 



