The careful mother nurses her young with the greatest attention, whilst the male fulfils his task of tending her and supplying all her wants. The nestlings are fed from the first day of their life on the seeds of the fir or pine, softened in the crop of the old birds and half digested, but after a short time they are able to take them without this preparation. They rapidly attain their full size, and are active and lively, but require parental attention for the lengthened period during which their mandibles are not crossed, as until they are so the young are incapable of opening cones for themselves. After leaving the nest, they seek shelter in the thickest trees, in the vicinity of their parents, and while the latter are procuring fir-cones, as above described, will cry uninterruptedly, like naughty children, following the old birds hastily should they leave the tree, or calling long and dismally until their return. After a time they are taught to work, their parents commencing by giving them half opened cones to practise upon, and afterwards such as have only been bitten from the trees. When the young are quite independent in this respect, they form fresh flocks, or associate themselves with that of their parents.
It is easy to ensnare the Cross-bill if it is enticed to the ground by the help of a tame bird. In some parts of Germany high poles are prepared, covered with pine branches, in which limed twigs are concealed; these are then placed in the upper parts of the woods, and a decoy-bird fastened beneath them, which contrives to attract the attention of all that fly over it, so that many perch upon the bushes and limed twigs; in this manner numbers may be caught in the course of a morning.
We must leave it undecided whether a most remarkable species found in the Sandwich Islands be reckoned among the Cross-bills or not. Many naturalists have no hesitation in so placing it, though Reichenbach believes it to be more nearly allied to the Honey-eaters, with whom our readers will shortly be made acquainted, than to the Finches. This bird, which we shall call the Parrot-Greenfinch (Psittirostra psittacca), appears to be even more of a connecting link between the Parrots and the Finches than the Cross-bill or the Parrot-Bullfinch, as its two names clearly express. In size it resembles our bullfinch, its length being about six and three-quarter inches, and the length of the wings three and a half inches. The plumage is of a beautiful parrot-green, intermixed with grey upon the breast. The head and breast are of gamboge yellow, the wings and tail-feathers edged with green, and the back and legs of a black colour. We are entirely ignorant of such particulars of its life and habits as might give us any assistance in decisively assigning this bird to its proper place; it still may be numbered amongst our greatest rarities, as but very few collections can boast of a specimen.
THE BULLFINCHES (Pyrrhulæ).
The Bullfinches are known by their short thick beak, arched in all directions, while the upper mandible terminates in a small hook. Their other characteristics are their short moderately strong legs and somewhat soft plumage, the nature and colour of which vary considerably in the different members of the family. These birds are found throughout the whole world, with the exception of Australia; but they principally frequent the temperate and frigid zones. They inhabit woods and bushes, as well as mountains and deserts, and pass as much of their time upon trees as upon the ground. Their food consists principally of corn, seeds of various kinds, and green leaves and buds. Being eminently social, they mingle freely with their congeners, and very soon become attached to man. In their movements they are somewhat clumsy, and much behind the Cross-bills in agility and beauty. Their song is very simple and pleasing, and to this some add the gift of being able to learn and imitate with great accuracy the notes of other birds. The nest is always carefully hidden in trees or the clefts of rocks. The number of eggs is from four to six.
THE PARROT-BULLFINCH.
The Parrot-Bullfinch (Paradoxornis flavirostris) should, as its name testifies, be assigned the first place in this family. This is a very rare bird, and of striking appearance, inhabiting Southern Asia; it has not the beak of the true Bullfinch, the upper mandible not rising noticeably above the lower one, but curving outwards towards the sides, as in some species of parrots. The wings are somewhat feeble and decidedly rounded, the sixth quill being longer than the rest; the tail is long, graduated, and strong; the legs and feet very powerful, the toes of middle length, and the claws much bent. Its soft and flowing plumage is of a greyish brown, somewhat lighter on the under parts of the body, reddish brown on the back of the head and neck; the mantle olive-coloured, with a band of deep black round the throat and over the ear-covers; the face, skull, cheeks, and throat are white, spotted or striped with a darker colour, and there are tawny tints upon the belly, becoming redder upon the sides. The beak is of a brilliant yellow; the feet leaden coloured, the eye reddish brown. In size this bird resembles our common bullfinch, its length being about eight inches, three of which belong to the tail. The wing measures three inches from the shoulder to the tip.