FKIXGILLID.K- THE FINCHES. 4y- 



The same poculifiritics cf invgiilar i.])ix>aranco have I)oen ol)servc(l by iMv 

 Allon. in Spiinglidil, wliere it is olten a very al.mi.hmt visitor, but "nn- 

 erally not so common. In the winter of 185<J-ti() the pine woods in"the 

 vicniity of that city abounded witii thorn, and in February tiiev wen; already 

 in full song. They are at all times gregarious, and iue sometimes seen in 

 large flocks. 



They liave, as they fly, a loud, peculiar, and not unmusical cry. This call- 

 note they do not utter \\hen at rest or when feeding. Their song in the spriu" 

 and summer is varied and pleasing, but is not powerful, or in any respe(°t 

 remarkable. Tiiis song is especially noticeable in caged bird.s, who soon Ijc- 

 come very tame, an<l feed readily In.ni the hand, even when taken at an 

 adult age. Their manners in confinement are very like those of the Parrots 

 clinging to the top of the wires with their claws, hanging with their heads 

 downward, and, when feeding, holding their food in one claw. On the trees, 

 their habits and manner are also said to be similar to those of I'arrots. 



Mr. Audulj(jn has found these birds, in August, in the j.ine woods of Tenn- 

 sylvania, and inferred that they l)reed there. This .h)es not necessarily fol- 

 low. They bred ,so early at the nortli as to give ample time lor their 

 migrations, even in midsummer, to remote places. Professor I5aird, how- 

 ever, informs me that during a summer spent in the mountains of Schuylkill 

 County, I'enn., in the coal region, he saw them nearly every dav, moviu-r 

 al)out or feeding, in pairs. " " 



The Ciussbills are extremely gentle and social, are easily approached, 

 caught in traps, and even knocked down with sticks. Tlieir food is chiefly 

 tiie seeds of the Conifcva; and also those of plants. Audubon's statement that 

 they destroy apples merely to secure the seeds is hardly accurate. They 

 are extravagantly fond of this fruit, and prefer the flesh to its seeds. Tlieir 

 llight is undulating, somewhat in the manner of the (;oldhiich, firm, swift, 

 and often ]irotracted. As they fly, they always keep up the litteraiice of 

 their loud, clear call-notes. -They move readily on the ground, uj) or down 

 the trunks and limbs of trees, and stand as readily with their heads down- 

 ward as upright. 



Wilson states that in the interior of Pennsylvania this species appears in 

 large flocks in the winter, and during the prevalence of deep snows they 

 keep al)out the doors of dwellings, pick ofl" the clay with whicli these huts 

 are plastered, and are exceedingly tame and not easily driven off. 



So far as is known, these Crossbills breed in midwinter, or very early in 

 the spring, when the weather is the most inclement. The nest and e"<'S 

 ot tins sjiecies were procured by jNFr. Charles S. Paine, in East ];aiulol])h, Vt., 

 early in the month of March. The nest was built in an ujiper briinch of an 

 elm, — which, of course, was leafless, — the ground was covered witli snow, 

 and the weather severe. The birds were very tame and fearless, refusing to 

 leave their eggs, and had to be several times taken off by the hand. After 

 its nest had been t?aken, and as Mr. I'aine was descending with it in his hand, 



