THE COMMON CROSSBILL. 51 
fir, enclosing a cup-shaped structure of dry grass and lichen; the lining being 
formed of somewhat finer materials, mixed with moss, wool, or feathers. 
The eggs number from four to five, but rarely exceed four; they vary in 
colouring from greenish-blue to greyish-white, and are spotted, speckled, and some- 
times almost streaked with dark brown; there are also underlying spots of pale 
reddish brown, and the larger end is occasionally dusted with greyish. The 
specimen figured on our plate is from the collection of A. B. Farn, Esq. 
Whilst feeding their young the Crossbill feeds largely upon caterpillars, and 
other larvee, also the chrysalides of a little moth, as well as buds of trees; but 
later, as the fir- and pine-cones ripen, it extracts the seeds with its powerful man- 
dibles and feasts upon them. Berries of various kinds are largely eaten, and 
Seebohm says that the Crossbill is very fond of apples, but this is not strictly 
correct, for it simply tears the fruit to pieces and drops it, eating only the pips; 
I frequently observed the destructive part in the case of a pair of caged Crossbills 
once in my possession, but they never ate the pips. 
Lord Lilford (Birds of Northamptonshire, Vol. I, pp. 205-6) observes :—‘‘ We 
have generally found the Crossbills very tame and easy of approach, and a flock 
of these birds, busily employed in feeding on the seeds of a snow-laden fir-tree, is 
a beautiful and most interesting sight. Their actions in quest of food very much 
resemble those of the smaller Parrots as they cling to and clamber about the large 
cones, from which they extract the seeds with wonderful rapidity. In confinement 
we have found this species, though it soon becomes perfectly tame, invariably very 
restless, and constantly climbing over all parts of its cage as if seeking to escape. 
As above mentioned, fir-seeds are the natural and favourite food; but these birds 
will readily feed on hemp-seed, and almost any of our common berries.” “Although 
we have found our tame birds very fond of the pips of apples, we never could 
induce them to extract the said pips from the fruit for themselves.” * 
My own experience of the Crossbill as a cage-bird agrees very closely with 
the above as regards its disposition and behaviour: the following are my notes on 
this species: In the winter of 1886-7, my friend Mr. J. Johnston gave me a pair 
of Crossbills, and within a week the cock-bird would take sunflower seeds from 
my fingers. These birds are quiet but amusing creatures, much like Parrots in 
their actions. I placed their seed in one of the ordinary tin hoppers to prevent 
their wasting it, but in two days they had found out how to lift up the lid at the 
top, after which the cock-bird almost invariably took his seeds out there, clinging 
head downwards to the wires as he fed: in a few days the Crossbills became 
accustomed to their cage, and immediately set to work to do all the mischief they 
* My birds always did so from the first, though they did not eat them when extracted. 
