tile red; the feather's on the back mixed with some brown,
producing a chestnut brown ; wing-coverts, quill, and tail-
feathers, nearly uniform dark brown ; tail short, slightly
forked ; vent, and under tail-covefets, greyish white ;
toes, and claws, dark brown. The- central figure of ouï
group represents such a bird.
A second male bird killed at the same time as the red bird
just described, has the head, rump, and under surface of the
h°dy, paid yellow, tinged with green ; the back olive brown ;
wings and tail-feath ers like those o f the red bird.
; A third male, killed at the same time, has the top of the
head and the back a mixture of reddish brown and dark
orange ; the rump reddish orange; the upper tail-coverts
bright orange y the chin, throat, and upper part of the breast,
red, passing, on the lower part of the breast, belly, and sides,
to orange.
I Red males that have moulted in confinement havi'chahged.
during the moult to greenish yellow, and others to bright yellow
; thus apparently indicating that the yellow colour,was;
that of the older livery ; but young males, as befsfefiob^
served, certainly sometimes change at once-to yellow, without
going~throngh ,either the red or the torange-eoîoured.
stage. : The brightest colours, whether green, yelîèw, réd;
or orange, pervade the feathers of the rump, and the upper,
tail-coverts. ~
In captivity I have known several instancestfof red-and-
yellow coloured specimens changing back to.'dull brown, as
dark, or even darker,,than their early plumage.'y This might
be the effect of particular food, which is known to exercise
sucluan influence on other birds-;- but whether having once
assumed bright tints, thèy ever, in a wild and. healthy state,
go back to olive brown, or more dull colours, has’ noty I
believe, been ascertained.
/ Young females, from the striated appearance of their, first
autumn dress acquire a greenish yellow tint oh the top of the
head, and on' the whole of thé under surface of the body,
mixed with greyish brown ;..;-the rump and upper tail-coverts
•of primrose-yellow, tinged with green ;• Wings, tail; and legs*
coloured as in the male ; but, as far as I am aware, no fe*
males have;,been-found‘bearing the rèd-colouréd plumage.
The lower figure in our group is from à female.
1 Mr. Henry Doubleday, of Eppingf, possesses two skins of
"the Gomm'on Crossbill, having-dull white tips to the féâthers
of both sets-öfr the wing-coverts'; these bill's,- from their bulk
and length, I beliSve to be variëïiéfeVbnly1;0 the true Whited "
winged'Crossbill^-“to'-be h'eteMerdèscribed, ’ is :a- very diffërènt
—bird- from this, being shorter,- and*,! much,’ disk robust in its
" form.- ;
»c The . Common- Crossbill, however,’ Variés à little’4n rsize*
depèndingÆon sex*andr,age. Young males are th e 'smallèst,
àndi s^dom'Æm^àsuTëuihoré. than six inches and a quarter'in
length ’ females" are the- largest;-'andf frequëntlyï-meâsure
" séven inches, in lëhgîKi 'thb'4^tngs’’ïathl^J'MMg 'and pblûi|Éi|V
t i%di;éas1éù^é®nsidierâblJe; powers, o f - flight yûthefavérage! extent
from tip4i^|iip;>4,b(É |t elëvêh^nëheS ; -from the carpal joint to
the e ld of' the «firSti quill-feathery which is fcbêjdbngèst^ three
inches jafed thfeee-qukriers; ■ thé1 .sbcniid' ? quilhfeathei a Very
little jshorter "thaft the first - ;**thfe' third à littTê'8höf tet than thé'
.’"second, ànd tKë^fourth feather one quarter o f an inch'shorter
than th’ë'vthird.7 -
- - Besideftseveral skins-in.--my own collect iomltfibirds,killed
in July;- September, Novembei; and January"; some skins
selected^ with reference' 'to fpaftiSùl|!§;'&tates"'io£ l)lumâge,-r and
opportunities- of examining from tifn^'lo^time various specie
ihens. kept m Confinement for observation, I htfvè beéh fa*
ydurëd .with many'others»* W. Wells,r^Eéq. of Redleaf, very1
kindlyc«sen't- tfae somé in\, different ktàtés- of plumage from
Penshurst,- where these'‘bird's Were; recently so numerous that