7
The Crossbill
(I.oxia curvirostra.)
At first sight the beak of the Crossbill looks like a deformity, which may cause its owner to die of starvation. It is, however, a very efficient weapon specially adapted to the habits of the bird. The Crossbill is a finch, and like its more familiar cousins, lives upon seeds. Its preference is for the seeds of pines, firs and other cone-bearing trees. These seeds grow between the hard scales of the cone, which remains tightly pressed together until the seeds are ripe. With the two hooks of its peculiar beak, the Crossbill attacks the cones, prizes open the scales and extracts the seeds.