CRossBILu. PASSERES. LOXIA. 255 
tween it and the common one. ‘This specimen was procured 
by Sir Witt1am from Mr D. Ross, gunmaker in Edin- 
burgh (a person well acquainted with most of the feathered 
inhabitants of our islands, and one of the best preservers of 
animals in the kingdom), to whom it had been sent from 
Ross-shire, along with several others; but he cannot. now say 
whether they were all of the same species. 
Another very mutilated specimen of this bird is in the 
Edinburgh Museum. 
In its manners it resembles the other species of this singu- Occasional 
lar genus, and, like them, inhabits the pine forests of the Arc- vital: 
tic Regions. According to TremMINck, it visits Poland, Prus- 
sia, ond other parts of Germany, during the winter months, 
and breeds at that season. ‘The eggs are stated to be four or 
five in number, of an ash-grey colour, marked at the greater 
end with large irregular spots of blood-red, and over the rest 
of the surface with minute specks of the same. 
The species appears to be the same in North America. 
Pirate 53**. Fig. 1. Natural size. 
Bill very strong, five-eighths of an inch deep, shorter than 
the middle toe, much hooked, and the crossing point of General 
the lower mandible not reaching so high as the ridge of eee i 
the upper one; but in the common Crossbill it comes 
beyond that part. Head large. Body thick, and con- 
siderably exceeding in size that of the common species. 
The whole of the upper and under parts of the body 
has an intermixture of tile-red, sulphur and wax yellows, 
and greys. Wings deep hair-brown. Greater coverts 
and quills tinged and margined with wine-yellow. Tail 
the same as the wings. Legs and toes yellowish-brown. 
Claws black. 
This appears to be a young male, as it answers to Trm- 
MINCK’s description of the bird at a year old. Accord- 
ing to that author, the plumage of the old male is prin- 
cipally of an oil-green colour, tinged with grey. The 
