320 THE ZOOLOGIST. 
Linnet.—Seeds of flax, thistle, and dandelion; and particularly 
of cruciform plants. In May, insects, seeds, and berries ; June, 
insects, seeds, and berries; July, insects, seeds, and berries ; 
August, insects, seeds, and berries; September, insects, seeds, 
and berries; October, November, December, January, February, 
March, and April, seeds, berries, &c. (Florent Prevost). 
Twitr.— Heads of Centaurea nigra (Yarrell). 
Buuurincu.—One in confinement ate 238 seeds of Cnicus 
lanceolatus (the spear-plume thistle) in about twenty minutes, 
though plentifully supplied with hemp-seed (Stevenson). Chet- 
matobia brumata, female, and larve in the spring (Stevenson); as 
also the blossom-buds of plum, apple, medlar, cherry, and goose- 
berry ; and in winter, hips, the fruit of the dog-rose, berries, and 
seeds (Yarrell). 
Crosspitu.—Seeds of fir, apple, and mountain ash (Yarreil). 
Vast flocks of Crossbills at Hungerford in July, 1810, destroying 
Aphides on the young shoots of cherry-trees, observed by Mr. 
Hall, who says, “ The Crossbill places its bill to the side of the 
leaf, and clears them out (though covered with insects) in a few 
seconds” (Zool., 1880, p. 321). 
Srartine.—Insects, worms, snails, berries, grain. Often 
perches on the backs of sheep, apparently searching for insects. 
In January, the food consists of worms, grubs of cockchaffers, 
erubs in dung; l'ebruary, grubs, snails, and slugs; March, 
snails and grubs of cockchatfers ; April, grubs of cockchaffers and 
snails; May, grubs of cockchaffers, snails, and grasshoppers ; 
June, flies and their larve ; July, grubs and fresh-water molluscs ; 
August, flies, glow-worms, and beetles; September, green locusts, 
worms, and grubs of carrion-beetles ; October, worms and beetles ; 
November, snails, slugs, and grubs. In summer, also fruit. In 
winter, also hips, haws, and buds of trees (Florent Prevost). 
Rep-wincEeD StTartinc.—Coleoptera (Stevenson & Lubbock). 
Rosr-coLoureD Pasror.—Insects appear to form a principal 
part of their food; but they are also partial to fruit, such as 
cherries ; and grain, such as Andropogon sorghum and Panicum 
spicatum. Destructive to locusts. Perch on sheep and cattle for 
insects (Yarrell). 
Cuover.—-Five Choughs kept on a lawn were incessantly 
employed in destroying grubs which were in the roots of the 
grass and were turning part of the lawn brown (Bishop Stanley). 
