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90 Vote. XII NOTES ON THE NORTHWESTERN CROSSBILL By J. W. PRESTON WITH TWO PHOTOS OR ten years past I have occasionally gone into regions inhabited by this in- teresting bird, whose movements are erratic in the extreme. Reports of their nesting have consequently been misleading. I had been taught that one should expect sets of their eggs ,in February, and it required almost the ten years to learn that such is not always the case, if ever in this region, Spokane, Washington. From a bird which sports crost mandibles and chews its food we might ex- pect some eccentricities. and the subject of this sketch certainly possesses them! A careful study of a large number of the birds as well as of their general habits, nests and eggs, would seem to prove the propriety of separating this form. If _there is wisdom in the separation of a multitude of recognized forms, this one should by no means be an exception. In this northwestern region the male Crossbill is indeed a "red bird" and handsome as is his modest mate. From late Autumn until the next June they appear in large flocks, coming down from their northern breeding range at the appearance of snow, and remain- ing in certain localities where pine nuts are plentiful, as that is their principal food supply. All winter long they may be seen moving about over the forests from place to place, frequently settling onto a large cone-covered pine to feed. I have seen large trees literally covered with them, and it was a lively sight, what with the rattling of the dry scales of the cones as they bit out the nut,. the continual . "peet-peet-peet" and the flying from cone to cone. Then all at once, at a quick call, every bird would fly away and the flock had gone. The song is a series of clear, loud, sparrowqike no(res, and pretty whistling effects which come riffling down from some pinnacle of a great tall pine tree. An occasional note resembles a quick, clear passage in the song of the rock wren--a rich, clear, single whistle-note. Another resembles a rich portion of the Baltimore Oriole's song. But the cormnon note of the Crossbill is an energetic, strong, metallic "peet-peet" which is uttered on all occasions, and one seldom sees a Crossbill without also hearing this note. A male bird will gather a flock about him by means of this call. Another effort is like the twittering of the Goldfinch. Most of their movements are accompanied by the "zeet-zeet-zeet" in a sort of whizzing tone, or "chink-chink-chink," "peet-peet-peet" or "pit-pit-pit", metal- lically. But the real singing is from the tree-tops and it is a happy, cheerful song. At times the male will float about overhead, singing, much as the Horned Lark does. The latter part of June they separate into small colonies, and resort to remote mountain regions, at an altitude of from two thousand to four thousand feet, where, in a social way they rear their young. The food consists largely of pine nuts and fir seed. At nesting time fir seed is green and soft and these birds will feed by the hour in the top of a tree, cutting off a cone and holding it in the claws while dexterously extracting the seeds which they seemingly chew. On this nu- tritious substance the young birds are fed. No wonder they are strong and ener- getic. These birds are literally reared in the tree tops, and rocked by the rough winds that surge down over the hills frorfi the mountain sides, While the Cross- bill loves the lonely retreats he is by no means a wild bird, and I have seen them percht on dwelling houses and about stables. When the pine nuts have fallen,