Red Crossbills. 
During - the past spring, (1883,) several 
flocks of Crossbills were frequently ob- 
served among the yellow pines which are 
common on the “Scotch Plains,” about 
two miles south of this place. On the 17th 
of March I secured seven specimens — five 
males and two females. The ovaries of the 
females showed no signs that the breeding 
season was near at hand. 
April 10th I was attracted to the edge 
of a small clearing by the song of a Red 
Crossbill on the top of a tall pine. As I 
approached, he with two or three others 
which I had not before seen, flew away. 
Thinking that some of them might have a 
nest near by I began searching, and soon 
found one on a horizontal branch of a pine, 
about thirty feet from the ground, which 
looked like that of a squirrel ; but on climb- 
ing the tree I was much gratified to find 
that it was the nest of a Red Crossbill, 
{Loxia curvirostra Americana ,) on which 
the female was sitting. She did not leave 
the nest until I was within two or three 
feet of it, when she flew off and disclosed 
three eggs which were far advanced in in- 
cubation. While I was securing the nest 
she continued hopping about among the 
branches, often coming within two or three 
feet of my hand, uttering now and then a 
single “chip.’ The nest consists of a 
slight frame work of small twigs in which, 
or rather on which, is built the nest proper. 
It is composed of fine shreds of Chestnut 
bark and moss ; and contains a few pieces 
of “caterpillar’s silk” and is lined with 
moss, ( Usnea,) two or three Great-horned 
Owl’s feathers and several of her own. 
The nest measures inches in breadth by 
3 inches in depth ; the cavity 2\ inches in 
breadth by If inches in depth. The eggs 
have a dull white ground with a faint tinge 
of blue, marked with small spots and lines 
of brown and black, which tend to form a 
circle around the larger end. There are 
also numerous shell markings of a dull 
lilac color. The eggs measure as follows : 
.81X.56, .82X-56, 81x55. I searched 
carefully for other nests, but was unable to 
find any, although I saw several of the 
birds. About half a mile from this spot I 
saw five or six White-winged Crossbills, 
( loxia leucoptera ,) all adult males. I se- 
sured one of them, and could have shot 
more as they were very tame, but did not 
as I thought the females and their nests 
might not be far away ; but careful search 
failed to reveal either. 
During the month of May, Red Cross- 
bills could be seen daily among the pines. 
A flock of eighteen or twenty came every 
day to drink out of a stump in which some 
water had collected ; here I set a fine 
wire snare and caught a male and a female, 
which I placed in a large breeding cage. 
In a day or two they became quite gentle, 
feeding readily upon any kind of seed. 
During the day they were quite contented 
but about sunset they would begin to call 
to each other and try to get out ; they 
would continue to do this until dark. The 
female would then nestle down into a nest 
which had been placed in the cage for a 
canary, and the male would station him- 
self on the edge of the nest and settle 
down for the night, At daybreak they 
would begin their calling again, and this 
would continue for some time. 
On the 14th of May I saw a flock of ten 
or twelve. Most of them appeared to be 
young birds. All the others I have seen 
since March have been adults. By the 1st 
of June they had all disappeared. — A. II. 
Ilelme , Millers Place, L. I. 
The Red Crossbill Breeding in Eastern Massachusetts.-Late m May, 
, 384 , I received information that a flock of Loxia curvirostra amertcana 
had been seen on the outskirts of the town. Now this was a bird I had been 
looking for in vain for a number of years, my last record being about ten 
years ago, and that flock made but a short stay, bo on the 31st I visited 
the locality named, which was ‘just the place’ for them, being a ledgy 
tract of pitch-pine, bordering on an alder and maple swamp. I found the 
flock there, about ten birds, and secured a pair, male and female, in fine 
adult plumage. On examination I concluded they had not yet bied, an 
were not likely to for some time. Thinking it probable some would nest 
there, I made several trips to the grove in June and July, but without 
result. I requested the man who owned the premises and lived near y, 
and who was quite interested in my search, to be on the watch for any 
young birds, and about the middle of July, was gratified with the informa- 
tion that he had twice seen at close quarters a pair of old birds feeding 
their young; and he has reported their presence quite frequently since, 
the last time being as lately as November 15. 
I regret that I cannot fix the date of hatching (interesting from being so 
late in the season), and also that I cannot give this at -first hand ; but 
my ‘assistant observer’ is reliable, and has often given me items of orni- 
thological value. — F . C. Browne, Framingham , Mass. 
AQ k, 2, Jan., 1885. p. /OS- 
Gape God, CUB, Miller, Jr, 
Loxia curvirostra minor. — On April 24, 1889, while hunting in a 
I deep sink hole known locally as Hell’s Bottom , about a mile and a half 
north of Highland Light, in the midst of a tract of pines covering about 
one hundred acres, I secured four specimens of this species. Two days 
later another was taken at the same place. Besides the specimens taken, 
perhaps half a dozen others were seen. The birds were all found among 
the pines which in this sheltering ‘sink hole’ had attained a height of 
from twenty to thirty feet. For Crossbills they seemed remarkably quiet, 
and showed none of that restlessness which generally seems so charac- 
teristic of these birds. They were quietly flying about among the pines 
and now and then alighting bv the pool at the bottom of the sink hole to 
drink and bathe. They all seemed to be perfectly silent. 
Of the five taken three were females, and upon dissection all showed 
unmistakable evidence that they were breeding. The testes of the two 
males were much enlarged. Of the females, the one taken on April 26 
had just depostited her set of eggs. The oviduct of this specimen showed 
that it had very recently been active; while in the ovary were three 
ruptured capsules. Of the two females taken on Apiil 24, one had 
several much enlarged ova in the ovary, and in the oviduct an egg 
upon which the shell had not yet begun to form; while the ovary of the 
other contained several much enlarged ova. 
Unfortunately, after skinning the birds, I was unable to visit Hell's 
Bottom again in search of nests; but there is little room for doubt that 
the birds were breeding very near to the place where they were found. 
Ask, VII. July, 1890, p. J 2. # . 
O.&O. Vlll. Sept. 1883. p. 
