nine were killed at one shot. The Rev. William Browne; of
Cheam, sent me- five specimens from Devizes soon after
Christmas last. I have had the use- of a dozen in various
states of plumage from Mr. Joseph Clarke of Saffron Walden,
and as many from Mr. Henry Doubleday of Tipping,
in which locality these birds- -have * been unusually numerous.
The upper figure of the group at the head of this subject,
as before observed, represents a young bird ; -the middle
figure is from an old male; the' lower figureis from an adult
female.—
Since the previous portion of this subject was written;. I
have,, by the kindness- of Mr. John -.I^adbeater, of Brewer
Street, bad an opportunity'ïofi examiniffgj a younglClefebill,
which was -undoubtedly bred in this" countryadùrihg the
spring of the present year (IBS&^-andn confirms- in -various
points that wM»h has been hère:detailed. -.This young bird
was brought from Hampshire a t the latter end, of March, and
was. obtained within a few miles of Winchester.---' Its- whole
length is only five inches ; the feathers of the wings-and feÆt
not yet completed ; the former measuring but Hhrèe?in"àes
from the carpal joint to the end, and the' taiWeathers oh%' fex-
tending five-eighths - of an inch beyond the-ends n f oee upper»
tad-coverts. This bird cannot have Sown far from
in which k was reared, and was probably hatched aboutvthe
beginning of March. In the colours of its plumage i t very
élosely resembles those observed on young- birds of the/yfear.
when obtained in June, as described ntp àg é :2 8 ,—namely;
the head, neck^ upper part of the’back, the rump, and all the
under surface of the body, greyish white, v streaked .longitudinally
with dusky brown ; the feathers ofr-the^wings and
tail hair-brown, with narrow edges'of pale brown ; ï^he^beak,
though rather long, has both its mandibles perfectly straight,,
the lower one just shutting within the edges of the upper,
nor is there the slightest indication to which side either
mandible would b e reafterb e; inclined. I may here add,
that an opinion prevails that the sexes in the Crossbill may
be known iBy the »direction of the curves of the mandibles,
those of the males turning outward in the contrary direction
to those of the females; but the-examination of a great many
specimens, in reference to this point, has convinced me that
this is not a rule to be depended upon, the upper mandible
m be A sexes turning sometimes to* the right and sometimes
tOiA®-lSife I observe a record in the Essex Literary Jour-
nal’io r January ISB9:, that thë;Crossbill bred in Orwell Park,
near Ipsiwich; in ftKe -year 1B22.-
The peculiar, formation and direction of the parts of the
beak in ,th© Crossbilfriits- anomalous appearance, as well as
the^particular and' powerfupmanner, in wbieh it is exercised,
had long excited inline a desire to examine the structure of
an organ so-.carious, and fAfe kindness ©fra friend supplied me
withx the means. T oiHèw&eLwlio have-not made ithe habits
"and economy.of birds an,Qbgee¥of investigation, it may be
necessary4o premise!that one-three species of Crossbills are
tbe only British Birds that .'exhibit, r .or seem to require, any
lateral motion.of the -mandibles, and’it is my object here to
describe tbe bony structure and muscles by which this peculiar
and powerful aetioiHs obtained^'
The-beak o f :the Crossbills.Js altogether unique in its
form; Jhe' mandibles?do not lie upon each other with their
lateral edges in opposition, as in other birds, but cnr-ve to the
right and left, and always, in opposite directions to each other.
In some specimens the u^per mandibleri« turned to the right,
the lower,mandible eurved to stfe left ^ Im others the position
of the mandiblessifei reversed as to their direction. In the
specimen^ examined?, the upper mandible eurved downwards,
a n d te the le ft; the-èander portion turned upwards, and to
the right, as thé figures 1 and 2, in the vignette at the end of