190 On the Change of Plumage in the Common Crossbill. 



tation from old Aldrovandus : " One thing also more/' say eta 

 Aldrovandus, "seemeth to me strange and unusnal in the 

 crossbill — that in the winter time, when all things shrink with 

 cold, and all other things are mute, she sings, which, whether 

 it be true or no, let those observe among whom such birds 

 are common. It sings, they say, very sweetly." Eight, old 

 gentleman ! The winter song of the crossbill consists of many 

 very pleasing notes, and is heard most when the birds are 

 breeding in the end of the winter. 



Albin, who wrote in 1738, follows suit. His description is 

 evidently taken from Willoughby, and his coloured figure 

 represents a formidable -looking dark brown bird, shaded with 

 blue — such as I never saw. There is, however, no doubt about 

 its being a crossbill, when we look at its monstrous beak. 



Linnseus does not help us much. " Body varying in colour, 

 reddish, head scarlet/'' is all that he says. 



Old Pennant observes : " It is an undoubted fact that these 

 birds change their colours, or rather the shades of their colours ; 

 that is, the males, which are red, vary at certain seasons to deep 

 red to orange, or a shade of yellow." (Thus inferring that the 

 change of colour is seasonal, which I can clearly prove is not 

 the case.) " The females, which be green, alter to different 

 shades of the same colour." 



Wilson, the American ornithologist, appears also to favour 

 a seasonal change of plumage. This idea I do not for one 

 moment entertain. The colours may be a little brighter in the 

 winter than the summer, but that is all. 



Montague^s description is short and general. He says the 

 plumage of the male varies from beautiful red to orange colour 

 on the head, neck, breast, back, and rump — according to my 

 ideas, just putting the cart before the horse. 



Temminck's general description of the adult male is : 

 " Principal colour green. The male, after the first moult until 

 the age of a year, is brick-dust red. Young of the year, grey 

 brown, tinged with green, with dusky longitudinal streaks. 

 Females, at all ages, differ very little from the young." And 

 he further adds that " the female never assumes the red colour 

 which is peculiar to the male only after the first moult up to the 

 age of a year" Here, in my opinion, he is decidedly wrong. 



Shaw also says the male varies from a beautiful red to 

 orange colour, on the head, neck, breast, and rump. 



Jennyns gives the adult male as cinereous, tinged deeply 

 with green yellow. Male, after the first moult, general colour, 

 brick red; female, and young of the year, the same in plumage. 



He as well as Morris describes the nest as lined with 

 feathers, but of all the nests which I have taken I never saw 

 a single feather in more than two, and those were stiff pinion 



