being visited in winter by four of the species already named, has two that are peculiar to it, G. collaris and G. antigone. The Australian Region possesses a large species known to the colonists as the "Native Companion," G. australasiana; while the Nearctic area is tenanted by two species, G. americana and G. canadensis, to say nothing of the possibility of a fourth, G. schlegeli, a little-known and somewhat obscure bird, finding its habitat here. In the Ethiopian Region we have two species, G. paradisea and G. carunculata, which do not occur out of Africa, as well as two others forming the group known as "Crowned Cranes "-differing much from other members of the family, and justifiably placed in a separate genus, Balearica. One of these, B. pavonina, inhabits Northern and Western Africa, while the other, B. chrysopelargus or regulorum, is confined to the eastern and southern parts of that continent.1 CRANIUM (latinized from κpavíov, a skull) anatomically applied to the bony and cartilaginous parts of the skull without the jaws and the palato-pterygo-quadrate bones, and therefore practically equivalent to those parts which enclose the cranial cavity and the three principal sense-organs (see SKELETON). CREEPER (Dutch Kruiper, Swedish Krypare, Norsk Kryber), a term employed by ornithologists in a very vague sense, but chiefly to render Certhia as used by Linnæus and his immediate successors, and thus including forms belonging to more perfectly distinct Families than can here be named; for it was customary to thrust therein almost every outlandish Passerine bird which could not be conveniently assigned to any other of the then recognized genera, provided only that it had a somewhat attenuated and decurved bill. Taken by itself, "Creeper" signifies nothing in modern ornithology, and provincially it is very frequently used for the NUTHATCH. With a prefix, as TREE-CREEPER, it has a much more definite meaning, and in England is the Certhia familiaris of Linnæus. CREST. Feathery crests need no further comment than that they seem to be entirely ornamental, favourite objects of sexual selection, and therefore mostly developed in the male sex; they are generally erectile by the aid of cutaneous and subcutaneous muscles, notably by the musculus cucullaris. Horny crests, often supported by swollen cancellous outgrowths of the maxillary, nasal, and frontal bones (as in Hornbills and Cassowaries), have been described in connexion with the BILL. Very peculiar are the entirely 1 An admirably succinct account of all the different species was communicated by the late Mr. Blyth to The Field newspaper in 1873 (vol. xl. p. 631 ; vol. xli. pp. 7, 61, 136, 189, 248, 384, 408, 418), which has since been published in a separate form with additions by the editor, Mr. Tegetmeier, as The Natural History of the Cranes (London: 1881). horny, slender, and erectile outgrowths on the forehead of Palamedea comuta; and the similar erectile, long process of Chasmorhynchus, which is partly covered with very small feathers. The soft crest or comb of many Phasianidæ consists, like the wattles of other birds, entirely of the bare skin, and, being very rich in nerves and blood-vessels, is, as swelling organs, erectile in a different sense. Prominent ridges of bones, serving then for the attachment of powerful muscles, are likewise called "crests,"-for instance the crista sterni. CROCKER in England, according to Montagu, a name for the Black-headed GULL, Larus ridibundus; but in North America (and. perhaps also in some parts of Britain) used for the BRANT-Goose (Trumbull, Portr. and Names of Birds, p. 6). CROP, or ingluvies, the dilatation of the oesophagus before its entrance into the thorax. The walls of the crop seem to contain no other glands than the ordinary mucous glands of the oesophagus; the crop is used as a receptacle for the food, which therein is softened and acted upon by water and the saliva and warmth of the bird. Between a narrow, temporarily-dilated oesophagus and a permanent crop-like dilatation many intermediate stages exist. A distinct sac-like crop is present in most seed-eating birds, as in the Gallinæ, Columbæ, Pteroclidæ, in Opisthocomus, Thinocorys, Attagis, Psittaci, and, among the Passeres, many of the Fringillida and the Drepanididæ. The crop is less marked or only temporary in the Birds-of-Prey, the Cassowary, the Humming-birds, in Mormon, Pedionomus, and Panurus; and is represented by a slight but permanent dilatation in the Cormorant, various Ducks and Storks, and in the Flamingo. It is absent in all other birds. It reaches its highest development in the Pigeons, consisting of a right and a left globular half which are united by an unpaired portion; the inner walls possess numerous irregular ridges, and shew during the breeding-season an extraordinary activity, the cells of the mucous membrane proliferating and peeling off as a cheesy matter, with which both sexes feed their nestlings for a considerable time. The most peculiarly constructed crop is that of Opisthocomus ; the œsophagus is much widened and forms a long doubled loop, which rests upon the great pectoral muscles, and almost suppresses the anterior part of the keel of the breastbone. The walls are extremely muscular, and are inside furnished with numerous furrows and ridges, to enable the HOACTZIN to squeeze out the juicy leaves of the tree, Arum arborescens, upon which it feeds. CROSSBILL (Fr. Bec-croisé, Germ. Kreuzschnabel), the name given to a genus of birds, belonging to the Family Fringillidæ (FINCH), from the unique peculiarity they possess among the whole Class of having the horny sheaths of the bill crossing one another obliquely, whence the appellation Loxia (λoĝós, obliquus), conferred by Gesner on the group and continued by Linnæus. At first sight this singular structure appears so like a deformity that writers have not been wanting to account it such, ignorant of its being a piece of mechanism most beautifully adapted to the habits of the bird, enabling it to extract with the greatest ease, from fir-cones or fleshy fruits, the seeds which form its usual and almost invariable food. Its mode of using this unique instrument seems to have been first described by Townson (Tracts on Nat. Hist. p. 116, London: 1799), but only partially, and it was Yarrell who, in 1829 (Zool. Journ. iv. pp. 459-465, pl. xiv. figs. 1-7), explained fully the means whereby the jaws and the muscles which direct their movements become so effective in riving asunder cones or apples, while at the proper moment the scoop-like tongue is instantaneously thrust out and withdrawn, conveying the hitherto protected seed to the bird's mouth. Without going into details it may be observed that in the Crossbills the articulation of the mandible to the quadrate-bone is such as to allow of a very considerable amount of lateral play, and, by a particular arrangement of the muscles which move the former, it comes to pass that so soon as the bird opens its mouth the point of the mandible is brought immediately opposite to that of the maxilla (which itself is movable vertically) instead of crossing or overlapping it-the usual position when the mouth is closed. The two points thus meeting, the bill is inserted between the scales or into the pome, but on opening the mouth still more widely, the lateral motion of the mandible is once more brought to bear with great force to wrench aside the portion of the fruit attacked, and then the action of the tongue completes the operation, which is so rapidly performed as to defy scrutiny, except on very close inspection. Fortunately the birds soon become tame in confinement, and a little patience will enable an attentive observer to satisfy himself as to the process, the result of which at first seems almost as unaccountable as that of a clever conjuring trick. 1 As an accidental malformation, however, the peculiarity has been many times observed in other groups of birds, and especially in the Crows (Corvida). Such cases may be well compared to the monstrosity often seen in Rabbits and other members of the Order Glires, wherein the incisor teeth grow to inordinate length. 2 The special animosity of De Buffon on this point may perhaps be explained by the existence of a medieval legend (of which, however, be it said, he takes no notice), best known to English readers by Longfellow's pretty version of Mosen's poem, to the effect that the bird acquired its peculiar conformation of bill and coloration of plumage in recognition of the pity it bestowed on the suffering Saviour at the crucifixion. Schwenckfeld in 1603 (Theriotropheum Silesiæ, pp. 253, 254) gave the fable in the Latin verses of Johannes Major, which have been reprinted in Notes and Queries (ser. 5, vii. p. 505). The Common Crossbill of the Palearctic area, Loxia curvirostra, is about the size of a Skylark, but more stoutly built. The young (which on leaving the nest have not the tips of the bill crossed) are of a dull olive colour with indistinct dark stripes on the lower parts, and the quills of the wings and tail dusky. After the first moult the difference between the sexes is shewn by the hens inclining to yellowish-green, while the cocks become diversified by orange-yellow and red, their plumage finally deepening into a rich crimson-red, varied in places by a flame-colour. Their glowing hues are, however, speedily lost by examples which may be kept in confinement, and are replaced by a dull orange, or in some cases by a bright golden-yellow, and specimens have, though rarely, occurred in a wild state exhibiting the same tints. The cause of these changes is at present obscure, if not unknown, and it must be admitted that their sequence has been disputed by some excellent authorities, but the balance of evidence is certainly in favour of the above statement. Depending mainly for food on the seeds of conifers, the movements of Crossbills are irregular beyond those of most birds, and they would seem to rove in any direction and at any season in quest of their staple sustenance. But the pips of apples are also a favourite dainty, and it stands recorded by the old chronicler Matthew Paris (Hist. Angl. MS. fol. 252), that in 1251 the orchards of England were ravaged by birds, "pomorum grana, & non aliud de eisdem pomis comedentes"; which, from his description, "Habebant autem partes rostri cancellatas, per quas poma quasi forcipi vel cultello dividebant," could be none other but Crossbills. Notice of a like visitation in 1593 was published by Wats (Vit. 2 Offar. &c. 1640, p. 263), but of late it has become evident that hardly a year passes without Crossbills being observed in some part or other of England, while in certain localities in Scotland they seem to breed annually. The nest is rather rudely constructed, and the eggs, generally four in number, resemble those of the GREENFINCH, but are larger in size. This species ranges throughout the continent of Europe,1 and, besides occurring in the islands of the Mediterranean, is permanently resident in Mauritania and in the fir-woods of the Atlas. In Asia it would seem to extend to Kamchatka and Japan, keeping mainly to the forest-tracts. Three other forms of the genus also inhabit the Old World— two of them so closely resembling the common bird that their specific validity has been often questioned. The first of these, of large stature, the Parrot-Crossbill, L. pityopsittacus, comes occasionally to Great Britain, presumably from Scandinavia, where it is 1 It was obtained by Dr. Malmgren on the desolate Bear Island (lat. 74° N.), and in the autumn of 1889 enormous flocks were observed migrating southward along the coast of Portugal by the present King of that country. known to breed. The second, L. himalayana, which is a good deal smaller, is only known from the Himalaya Mountains. The third, the Two-barred Crossbill, L. tænioptera, is very distinct, and its proper home seems to be the most northern forests of the Russian empire, but it has occasionally occurred in Western Europe and even in England. The New World has two birds of the genus. The first, L. americana, representing our common species, but with a smaller bill, and the males easily recognizable by their more scarlet plumage, ranges from the northern limit of coniferous trees to the highlands of Mexico, or even further. The other, L. leucoptera, is the equivalent of the Two-barred Crossbill, but smaller. occurred in England at least thrice. It has CROW (Holland. Kraai, Germ. Krähe, Fr. Corbeau, Lat. Corvus), a name most commonly applied in Britain to the bird properly called a Rook, Corvus frugilegus, but perhaps originally peculiar to its congener, nowadays usually distinguished as the Black or Carrion-Crow, C. corone. By ornithologists it is also used in a far wider sense, as under the title Crows, or Corvida, is included a vast number of birds from almost all parts of the world, and this family is probably the most highly developed of the whole Class Aves. Leaving out of account the best known of these, as the CHOUGH, DAW, JAY, NUTCRACKER, PIE, RAVEN, and ROOK, it will be enough to consider here the species of the Family to which the appellation is strictly applicable, for of the limits and subdivisions of this Family it is at present desirable to speak with great caution, if not doubt. All authorities admit that it is very extensive, and is capable of being parted into several groups, but scarcely any two agree on either head. Especially must reserve be exercised as regards the group Streperinæ, or Piping Crows, belonging to the Australian Region, and referred by some writers to the SHRIKES, Laniidæ : since it is highly probable that Parker's suggestion (Trans. Zool. Soc. ix. p. 327) as to the recognition of these "Austro-Coraces" as a distinct Family will prove to be correct. On the other hand, it seems hardly possible to admit, as some have done, that the Jays require raising to that rank or even to separate them as a subfamily from the Pies, Pica and its neighbours, which lead almost insensibly to the typical Crows, Corvinæ. Dismissing then these subjects, we may turn to what may be literally considered Crows, and attention must be mainly directed to the Black or Carrion-Crow, Corvus corone, and the Grey, Hooded, or Royston Crow, C. cornix. Both these inhabit Europe, but their range and the time of their appearance are very different. Without going into minute details, it will suffice to say that the former is, speaking generally, a summervisitant to the south-western part of this quarter of the globe, and |