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CASSELLS BOOK OF BIRDS. 



settle. This last note is never uttered during flight. Whilst brooding, the Cross-bill employs a gentle 

 sound, not unlike the piping of a little chicken whilst under the wing of the hen, and the young have 

 a similar cry, mingled with the call-note of the parent bird. The song of the male is very pleasing, 

 particularly that of the Pine Cross-bill ; it consists of a cadence formed of a variety of weak twittering 

 low notes. These birds are to be heard at their best when the weather is fine and warm, and are 

 quite silent if the day is windy or stormy ; whilst singing, they perch on the summit of the trees. 



the banded cross-bill {Loxia taniopterd). 



The female has the same song as her mate, but it is somewhat gentler and more confused. In 

 captivity they sing throughout the year, except during the moulting season. The food of the Cross- 

 bill consists almost exclusively of the seeds of the forest trees, in obtaining which its strong crossed 

 beak is of the greatest service, as it requires considerable strength and much skill to break open the 

 cones of the fir and pine, in order to obtain the hidden seed. The bird perches upon a cone with its 

 head downwards, or lays it upon a branch, and stands upon it, holding it fast with its sharp, strong, 

 pointed claws. Sometimes it will bite off the cone and carry it to a neighbouring bough, or fly with 

 great difficulty some ten or twenty paces to another tree where it can be opened, for a suitable spot 

 is not to be found on every branch. If the cone is large, the little creature tears its way through the 



