Bicknell on the Nesting of the Red Crossbill. 
9 
and more select from without inwards. An exterior of bristling 
spruce twigs loosely arranged surrounded a mass of matted shreds 
of cedar bark, which formed the principal body of the structure, a 
few strips of the same appearing around the upper border, the 
whole succeeded on the inside by a sort of felting of finer material, 
which received the scanty lining of black horse-hair, fine rootlets, 
grass stems, pieces of string, and two or three feathers. This shal- 
low felting of the inner nest can apparently be removed intact from 
the body of the structure, which, besides the above-mentioned mate- 
rials, contained small pieces of moss, leaves, grass, string, cottony 
substances, and the green foliage of cedar. The nest measured in- 
ternally two and one half inches in diameter by over one and a 
quarter in depth ; being in diameter externally about four inches, 
and rather shallow in appearance. 
The fresh eggs are in ground color of a decided greenish tint, al- 
most immaculate on the smaller end, but on the opposite side with 
irregular spots and dottings of lavender-brown of slightly varying 
shade, interspersed with a few heavy surface-spots of dark purple- 
brown. There is no approach in the arrangement of these to a circle, 
but between the apex of the larger end, and the greatest diameter of 
the egg, is a fine hair-like surface line ; in two examples it forms a 
complete though irregular circle, and encloses the principal spots. 
In the other egg, which is the largest, this line is not quite complete 
and the primary blotches are wanting, but the secondary markings 
are correspondingly larger and more numerous. In another egg 
there are two perfect figures of 3 formed on the sides by the 
secondary marks, one of them large and singularly symmetrical. 
The eggs measure respectively .74 x .56, .75 x .58, .78 x .59. 
I take the liberty of quoting from a communication received from 
Mr. G. A. Boardman in relation to this species, that in Maine “ the 
nest has been found in thick trees, also in hardwood trees and in 
holes”; also that usually “some warm material (old-man’s-beard, a 
species of hanging moss) is used,” and that “ the bird sits very 
close.” 
We still seem to be but partially acquainted with this bird’s com- 
plete life-history. Its peculiarities of anatomical structure seem 
no less marked than its eccentricities of character. Indeed, the 
general laws of geographical limitation obtaining with other species 
seem in this almost to be overruled by an inherent element of capri- 
ciousness, which, though partially shared by others of its genus, is 
