78 GRAMm VOILE. 



have once taken hold, their oblique action, as they cross each 

 other, tends to draw the cone or other fruit towards the 

 bird ; and the foot is always ready, if necessary, to hold on. 

 In all its actions, indeed, the sliding notion of the one man- 

 dible upon the other is far more powerful than could, by 

 equal muscular energy, be given to any bill or beak, the man- 

 dibles of which simply shut the one against the other. A 

 slight lateral or grinding motion may be observed in the bills 

 of all birds that shell hard seeds ; and parrots grind hard 

 substances, and hawks divide tough ones, by sliding the point 

 of the lower mandible against the strong hook on the tip of 

 the upper. But though the tongue, as has been said, is pro- 

 bably used in scooping the seeds of cones, the tips of the 

 mandibles can be brought very nicely into contact, so as to 

 seize the smallest substances. 



As the cross-bills feed undisturbed in the depths of their 

 native forests, they are by no means shy when they visit 

 this country. They are so intent upon their cone-pecking 

 or apple-splitting, that they will not only allow their motions 

 to be watched more closely and for a longer time than most 

 other birds, but they may also be taken by a noose at the 

 end of a rod ; and the capture of one does not alarm the 

 rest, so that, if they are abundant, one who is expert in 

 managing that species of snare may take them in considerable 

 numbers. In confinement their dispositions are placid, and 

 they can be rendered very familiar, and taught a number of 

 little tricks. 



They are said to nestle high in the coniferous trees, to con- 

 struct their nests externally of tree-moss, and line them with 

 fine dry lichen, worked in the tomia of their beaks till it be 

 soft. It has been said that they line their nest with feathers, 

 but feathers are not very plentiful in the northern woods, 

 while the snow is on the ground ; and it has been said also 

 that they cement their nests with the turpentine which 



