232 BRITISH BIRDS. 



hooked, and rather strong. Scarcely two of these 

 birds are alike in plumage, the crossings of their 

 bills also vary in different individuals; some of 

 them being crossed over to the right, and others 

 to the left side. They chiefly inhabit the coun- 

 tries within the arctic circle, where the greater 

 number remain to breed. In winter they spread 

 themselves over the great pine forests of Poland, 

 Prussia, and Germany, and return to the north 

 in summer. In France and Holland, it is a bird 

 of passage. Its food is the seeds of the pine and 

 alder. 



