NOTES AND QUERIES. 189 



somewhat similar to that of the Corn-Bunting ; only once did I hear 

 the winter call oftenest heard, the long-drawn "qua-a-a-tch." I 

 should like to know if this species has been noticed in April in other 

 localities this year, for it seems to be an established fact that the bird 

 leaves this country not later than the end of March, as a rule. — S. G. 

 Cummings (Chester). 



The Breeding Range of the Twite. — Eeferring to Mr. Ellison's 

 remarks (ante, p. 150) regarding the breeding range of the Twite, the 

 statement that it " breeds in most parts of the British Islands where 

 moors, mountains, and exposed heathy places are found," to my mind, 

 hardly sufficiently represents the status of this species during the 

 breeding season. It is more local in its distribution than seems to be 

 implied in the above description of its range, and is apparently absent 

 from vast tracts of moorland ; especially is this the case in Wales and 

 the north-east part of Yorkshire. I quite agree with Mr. Ellison that 

 future researches and closer scrutiny may reveal this bird as occasionally 

 nesting even in parts of the country where it has been declared not to 

 breed ; but, on the other hand, a closer investigation may prove that 

 it is absent from districts which have been considered hitherto as suit- 

 able breeding haunts. En passant, may I ask is Mr. Ellison quite sure 

 that this species feeds its young so exclusively on seeds, as stated in 

 ' The Zoologist ' for 1905, p. 391 ?— E. P. Butterfield (Bank House, 

 Wilsden). 



Crossbill in Captivity. — In November last I obtained, by the kind- 

 ness of a friend, a fine male Crossbill in the yellow-green dress, which 

 had been in captivity more than a year, and probably longer, as he was 

 in the same plumage when purchased from a dealer. "Gyp," as we 

 call him, from his sharp note, soon became quite tame, and would 

 freely take larch-cones from my hand. It is very interesting to watch 

 him at work with the cone firmly gripped to the perch with one foot, 

 the scales being forced open by the powerful beak, and the seeds 

 extracted with the tongue. This process has been admirably described 

 by Prof. Newton in Yarrell's ' Birds' (4th ed., vol. ii. pp. 205, 206). 

 About this time of the year the cones become practically useless for 

 food, as they expand and shoot their seeds, and, from the specimens of 

 " Gyp's" work enclosed, it would seem that the young buds of the 

 Scotch-fir form part of the Crossbill's food in spring and sum- 

 mer, as a small branch inserted in the wires of his cage is always 

 bitten to pieces, and stripped of every bud by the next day. His move- 

 ments, as he climbs about the cage or hangs back downwards from his 



