The Crossbill. 
261 
THE CROSSBILL. (Lcxia curvirostra.) 
The Crossbill is a native of the vast pine foiests of 
northern Europe, and is by no means abundant in Eng- 
land. The bill of this singular bird is of considerable 
length, and the mandibles towards the point are very 
sharp and strong, curved in opposite directions, so that 
when closed the points cross each other, from which the 
bird derives his name. This curious organization enables 
them to obtain their food, which chiefly consists of the 
seeds of the cones of the fir, with the greatest facility 
These seeds, for a considerable time after they have 
ripened, are so firmly enclosed within their ligneous 
scales, that the bill of no ordinary bird could reach them. 
Fixing itself across the cone, the Crossbill brings the 
mandibles of its beak immediately over each other, and 
insinuates them between the scales, then forcing them 
laterally, the scales open. The mandibles are again 
brought in contact, between the scales, and the bird then 
picks out the seed with their tips. It is very interesting 
to find that a structure so anomalous as that of the bill 
of the Crossbill is really beneficial to the oreature, and 
not, as was formerly rather flippantly asserted, a defect 
or error of nature. 
