[1] Derivatives of the Latin _crux_ appear in many forms in European
languages, cf. Ger. _Kreuz_, Fr. _croix_, It. _croce_, &c.; the
English form seems Norse in origin (O.N. _Krosse_, mod. _Kors_). The
O.E. name was _rod_, rood (q.v.).
[2] The acceptance of this word as the English equivalent for this
peculiar form of the cross rests only, according to the _New English
Dictionary_, on a MS. of about 1500 in the Lansdowne collection,
which gives details for the erection of a memorial stained-glass
window, "... the fylfot in the nedermost pane under ther I knele
..."; in the sketch given with the instructions a cross occupies the
space indicated. It is a question, therefore, whether "fylfot" is a
name for any device suitable to "fill the foot" of any design, or the
name peculiar to this particular form of cross. The word is not, as
was formerly accepted, a corruption of the O. Eng. _feowerfete_,
four-footed.
CROSSBILL (Fr. _Bec-croise_, Ger. _Kreuzschnabel_), the name given to a
genus of birds, belonging to the family _Fringillidae_, or finches, from
the unique peculiarity they possess among the whole class of having the
horny sheaths of the bill crossing one another obliquely,[1] whence the
appellation _Loxia_ ([Greek: loxos], _obliquus_), conferred by Gesner on
the group and continued by Linnaeus. At first sight this singular
structure appears so like a deformity that writers have not been wanting
to account it such,[2] 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. 457-465, 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instantaneously thrust out and withdrawn, conveying the hitherto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. 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.
The common crossbill of the Palaearctic region (_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 shown 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 is 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 is recorded,
but of late it has become evident that not 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,[3] and occurs in the islands
of the Mediterranean and in the fir-woods of the Atlas. In Asia it would
seem to extend to Kamtschatka 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 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.
taenioptera_), 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 the common British 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 farther. The other (_L. leucoptera_) is the equivalent of the
two-barred crossbill, but smaller. It has twice occurred in England.
(A. N.)