814 
Mr. Joseph. I. S. Whitaker on the 
may he looked upon as having been fairly general throughout 
Italy, with the exception of its extreme north-western 
portion. 
Somewhat unaccountably, and strange as it may seem, 
Piedmont does not appear to have been visited by the Cross¬ 
bills as other parts of the kingdom have been during the 
jmst year. This is all the more surprising considering the 
alpine character of its northern boundary and the large tracts 
of fir-clad country it possesses. My personal experience, 
however, confirms the general report, for during a period of 
five weeks which I spent in the Yal d ? Aosta last summer, 
although constantly on the look-out for birds, I never 
once saw a Crossbill, nor could I learn of any having been 
seen by others during that time. The species is, however, 
said to be resident in some of the northern districts of Italy, 
and I understand that it breeds in some parts of the Yal 
d J Aosta itself. 
It has also been said to breed in some of the higher districts 
of the Apennines, although hitherto this statement has, by 
some authorities, been considered doubtful. There would 
however, appear to be unquestionable evidence of the bird 
having bred during the past year in the provinces of Emilia 
and Tuscany. One case of such breeding is recorded by Count 
Filippo Cavazza, in the e Bulletin ’ of the Italian Zoological 
Society for 1909, as having occurred, in May, in the gardens 
of Prince Hercolani near Bologna; another instance has 
kindly been notified to me by Count Arrigoni degli Oddi as 
having occurred, also in the month of May, on an estate 
belonging to the Marchesa Paulucci - Panciatichi, near 
Vallombrosa. 
To the eastward of Piedmont, and throughout the Italian 
lake-district and the valley of the Ticino, the incursion of 
Crossbills was very considerable, large numbers of the species 
having been observed in several localities from the middle of 
June onwards until September. 
So far as regards the remainder of Northern Italy, from 
information which has kindly been communicated to me by 
Professor Martorelli and Count Arrigoni, I gather that the 
