NESTING OF THE CEOSSBILL IN CO. WATERFORD. 201 



which is small for so large a bird, might easily be mistaken from 

 the ground for a knot or enlargement of the crooked leader. It 

 was placed in a perfect little cluster or bower of smaller 

 branches. Now that the young have left it, I have it before me. 

 It is composed externally of fine dead twigs of larch and Scotch 

 fir, and, within them, of green moss interwoven with a good deal 

 of sheep's wool, a few horse-hairs, and flakes of finer bark. It 

 was easily reached by climbing. 



The birds used not to cease their call-notes while flying to a 

 neighbouring tree, and thence into the nesting-tree, — nay, I have 

 heard the call of the female apparently coming from the nest 

 itself. It is like the syllable "yep, yep" or "yup, yup," while 

 that of the male is much sharper, like " gip, gip." The female 

 sat on the leader of the nesting-tree for a long time, watching 

 men put up a wire-fence close by, without alarm. She is of a 

 brownish grey, smaller than the male, and her beak less 

 evidently crossed. He is golden yellow both above and below, 

 and has no red visible about him. He has all the appearance of 

 a fully matured bird, being, large, active, vigilant, and his 

 mandibles conspicuously crossed. I have had the best oppor- 

 tunities of gazing at both birds when I climbed to the nest, and 

 they, in anxiety for their young, perched — calling excitedly on 

 adjoining tree-tops— within four feet of me. On April 17th these 

 Crossbills were seen to carry bits of something in their mouths 

 to the nest, as if to feed their young. 



The nature of the food has not been ascertained, but is 

 suspected to be largely composed of the green opening buds of 

 the larch, on which I have repeatedly seen the male feeding, — 

 e. g. f on April 4th. 



On April 21st I took Mr. Seebohm to see this nest. It 

 contained two young in greyish black down, with the olive- 

 coloured feathers beginning to show on the back. On my 

 leaving the tree where the old Crossbills had been watching me 

 at close quarters, they went back at once to the nest. 



On April 25th I again ascended the tree, and brought down 

 the one young bird then remaining, for Mr. Seebohm to see, 

 having first caught it on a branch to which it fluttered from the 

 nest with a remarkable power of grasping with its feet. The 

 points of its mandibles were straight, not crossed, but the edges 

 of the upper one overlapped the lower on both sides. The down 



