NOTES. 411 



BIRDS FEEDING ON FIR-CONES. 



Besides the Crossbill I have noticed this year Siskins, Chaf- 

 finches, Greenfinches, Goldfinches, Marsh-Tits, Coal-Tits, 

 and Blue Tits feeding on the seeds of the Scotch fir. These 

 birds, of course, only feed on those cones which are fully 

 ripe and have opened, and Goldfinches also were evidently pick- 

 ing up the fallen seeds under the trees. The few Lesser Red- 

 polls I have seen were not feeding on these seeds, but the 

 Hawfinch may possibly be added to the list, since I have 

 several times put them out of fir-trees, but have never actually 

 seen them feeding. Crossbills, besides opening the cones they 

 have nipped off, feed, like the other birds, on opened cones 

 without troubling to remove them ; I have also noticed 

 that if the cone is not quite ripe, it is only opened down the 

 more convex side, on which side it is easiest to get the seeds out; 

 many small unripe cones have of late been nipped off and 

 dropped without being opened at all. 



The question arises in connection with the Crossbill immigra- 

 tion as to whether the seeds of the Scotch fir are more abundant 

 this year or not ; of course, one's attention has been drawn 

 to searching these trees more closely this year on account of 

 the presence of Crossbills, and so one has noticed more of the 

 other birds ; yet, although Goldfinches pass through here every 

 spring, they usually stop a day only, and I have not seen them 

 feeding on the Scotch firs. This year they remained with 

 us nearly a month, and were very conspicuous, as they were 

 constantly to be seen feeding in these trees. 



Claud B. Ticehurst. 



Like Dr. C. B. Ticehurst, I have this spring (early April) 

 seen (in Hampshire) considerable numbers of Greenfinches, 

 Chaffinches and Goldfinches, and a few Bramblings feeding 

 upon the seeds of the Scotch fir, which they can easily extract 

 at this time of year, when the cones are opening and allowing 

 the seeds to drop. Mr. Robert Newstead, to whom I wrote 

 on the subject, kindly informs me that the observation is 

 new to him, and I cannot find that the cones are unusually 

 prolific this year, as one might suspect. It may be, however, 

 that the habit is not unusual, but that it has neen noticed 

 through the constant watching of the fir-trees on account of 

 the Crossbills ! H. F. Witherby. 



TWO-BARRED CROSSBILL IN SCOTLAND. 

 As regards my note on p. 375 (supra), drawing attention to 

 " a record of ' a large flock ' of L. leucoptera near Banff about 



