114 
FRINGILLID.E. 
bird would swing head downwards, and, snapping off a cluster 
of berries, follow it as it caught among the twigs or fell upon 
the ground, and, seizing it in the bill, would carry it to the top 
of the nearest wall ; then grasping the bunch with one foot, — 
thus resting upon one only, — it would speedily break open the 
berries and extract the seeds, never intentionally swallowing 
any of the pulp. It was not until I began to watch this bird 
carefully that I became aware of its at least occasionally feeding 
upon insects ; yet that it does so I have proved both by dissec- 
tion and by previous observation. In summer, the elm leaves 
were often nearly destroyed by large numbers of aphides, which, 
gathering upon the underside, caused each leaf partially to dry 
up and shrivel. The Crossbills gather these leaves, and, holding 
them in precisely the same manner as the rowan-berries, rapidly 
clear them of their inhabitants, dropping them in hundreds at 
the foot of the tree. A very troublesome small green cater- 
pillar, which rolls itself up in the sycamore leaves, is also 
eagerly sought out and devoured. 
During the day the Crossbills keep mostly to the gardens, 
but in harvest time they resort chiefly to the corn-fields. 
Another fact in their history, which appears to have been 
hitherto unobserved, is, that although as a rule they roost in 
the trees and bushes, they very often retire to the stubble for 
the night. I have marked them down at dusk, and disturbed 
them in the same spot late at night. Had I even come upon 
them accidentally, their unmistakable notes would instantly 
have made known their species. Most observers have remarked 
the tameness of Crossbills while feeding, and their apparent 
heedlessness of danger, even when a gun has been repeatedly 
discharged among them. This, however, I imagine, is not so 
frequently the case with large flocks, where, of course, there 
may be a considerable number of old birds, which alone give 
the alarm note. This note is instantly acted upon by the 
whole flock, which flies off to some safer place ; but as the 
shooter usually selects the most brilliantly coloured, and there- 
fore the oldest Ijird, tlie others, of course, hearing no signal to 
