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Loxia pityopsittacus.—Temm. after Bechstein.
OUR acknowledgements are here due to Sir William Jardine, of Jardine Hall, Bart. for the loan of the preserved specimen from which the above figure was taken. It was shot in Ross-shire, in 1822, and appears to be the same, or nearly so, that Temminck describes under the designation we have given to it. The bill dark horn; irides hazel; the predominant colour of this bird is red, rather clouded on the back, and more or less mixed with green on the breast, belly, and vent; the hinder part of the neck is mixed with dark ash; the wings and tail dusky, each feather distinctly edged either with a pale colour, or with a pale green; the legs and toes dusky; claws hooked, and rather strong. It has been observed before, that scarcely two of these birds are alike in plumage, the crossings of their bills also vary in different individuals, so as to leave us in some doubt, whether this may be a distinct species or not. They chiefly inhabit the countries within the arctic circle, where the greater number remain to breed. In winter they spread themselves over the great pine forests of Poland, Prussia, and Germany, and return to the north in summer. In France and Holland, it is a bird of passage. Its food is the seeds of the pine and alder.
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