THE CROSSBILEL. 549 
height from the ground. A thick bush is a very favourite spot for the nest ; 
but I have more than once found them in hazel branches so slender that 
the mere weight of the nest has bent them aside. The eggs are very prettily 
marked with deep violet and purple-brown streaks and mottlings upon a 
greenish white ground, and are easily recognizable by the more or less 
perfect ring which they form round the larger end of the egg. The eggs are 
generally five in number. ; ; 
THE CROSSBILLS, of which three species are known to inhabit England, 
are most remarkable birds, and have long been celebrated on account of the 
singular form of beak from which they derive their name. 
In all these birds, the two mandibles completely cross one another, so that 
at first sight the structure appears to be a malformation, and to prohibit the 
bird from picking up seeds or feeding itself in any way. But when the 
Crossbill is seen feeding, it speedily proves itself to be favoured with all the 
ordinary faculties of birds, and tq be as capable of obtaining its food as any 
of the straight-beaked birds. ; re 
The food of the Crossbill consists almost, if not wholly, of seeds, which it 
obtains in a very curious manner. It is very fond of apple-pips, and settling 
on the tree where ripe apples are to be found, attacks the fruit with its beak, 
and in a very few moments cuts a hole fairly into the “core,” from which it 
picks out the seeds daintily and eats them, 
rejecting the ripe pulpy fruit in which they 
had been enveloped. As the Crossbill is 
rather a voracious bird, the havoc which it 
will make in an orchard may be imgined. 
This bird is also very fond of the seeds 
of cone-bearing trees, and haunts the pine- 
forests in great numbers. While engaged 
~ in eating, it breaks the cones from branch- 
es, and, holding them firmly in its feet 
after the fashion of the parrots, inserts its 
beak below the scales, wrenches them 
away, and with its tongue scoops out the 
seed. 
The Crossbill is not common in this 
country, although when it does make its 
appearance it generally comes over in flocks. 
Usually it consorts in little assemblies 
consisting of the parents and their young, cRossBILL. (Lvacu curvirostis.) 
but it has often been known to associate 
in considerable numbers. It is a very shy bird, and has a peculiar knack of 
concealing itself at a moment’s notice, pressing itself closely upon the 
branches at the least alarm, and remaining without a movement or a sound 
to indicate its position until the danger has departed. 
In Sweden and Norway the Crossbill is a very common bird; and the 
North of Europe seems to be their proper breeding-place. 
The nests are always placed in rather close proximity, so that if one nest 
is found, others are sure to be at no great distance. The nest is made of 
little fir-twigs, mosses, and wool, and is of rather a loose texture. It is 
always found upon the part of the branch that is nearest the stem. The fir 
‘is the tree that is almost always if not invariably employed by this bird as 
its nesting-place. The eggs are generally three, but sometimes four in 
number, and are something like those of the greenfinch, but rather larger. 
