80 BIRDS OF GUERNSEY. 



72. COMMON CROSSBILL. Loxia curvirostra, Lin- 

 naeus. French, " Bec-croise," "Bec-croise com- 

 mun." The Crossbill is an occasional visitant to 

 all the Islands, and sometimes in considerable 

 numbers, but, as in England, it is perfectly 

 irregular as to the time of year it chooses for its 

 visits. Mr. MacCulloch writes me word " The 

 Crossbill is most uncertain in its visits. Many 

 years will sometimes pass without a single one 

 being heard of. When they do come it is generally 

 in large flocks. I have known them arrive in early 

 autumn, and do great havoc amongst the apples, 

 which they cut up to get at the pips. Sometimes 

 they make their appearance in the winter, seemingly 

 driven from the Continent by the cold." 



My first acquaintance with the Crossbill was in 

 Sark on the 25th of June, 1866, when I saw a very 

 fine red-plumaged bird in a small fir-plantation in 

 the grounds of the Lord of Sark. It was very 

 tame, and allowed me to approach it very closely. 

 I did not see any others at that time amongst the 

 fir-trees, though no doubt a few others were there. 

 On my return to Guernsey on the following day I 

 was requested by a bird-catcher to name some 

 birds that were doing considerable damage in the 

 gardens about the town. Thinking from having 

 seen the one in Sark, and from his description, that 

 the birds might be Crossbills, I asked him to get 

 me one or two, which he said he could easily do, as 



