REVIEW OF THE AMERICAN CROSSBILLS. 105 



L. curvirostra {vefd). — Of this species or race I have for com- 

 parison only three adult males and two adult females. There is 

 not the slightest difficulty in distinguishing any of these examples 

 from L. pityopsittacus, or from any of the numerous American 

 specimens. As to the latter, the resemblance of L. curvirostra is 

 far nearest to Z. mexicana ; but the latter has a much more in- 

 tensely red coloration, has the wing and tail (on the average) de- 

 cidedly longer, and the mandible decidedly longer and stouter, 

 both absolutely and in proportion to the upper mandible. 



L. cunnrostra americana. — When Wilson characterized his '^Cur- 

 virostra americana,'' he thus separated a North American Crossbill 

 differing from the common European species (Z. cinvi rostra), among 

 other characters, in " being nearly one-third less." This statement 

 of the difference in size is certainly not exaggerated. Of this form — 

 which is the prevailing one in northern and eastern North Amer- 

 ica — I have examined in this connection twenty-four males, and 

 twenty-three females. The characters presented by this series are 

 very uniform, scarcely a single specimen being sufficiently larger 

 than the average to render its position doubtful. 



Compared with the provokingly small series of Z. pityopsittacus 

 and Z. curvirostra which is available for the purpose, all the full- 

 plumaged males of Z. americana are decidedly brighter in colora- 

 tion.* There is, however, much individual variation in color. 



The brightest colored examples are Nos. 83,368, District of Co- 

 lumbia (spring of 1864; C. Drexler), and 78,186, Santa Cruz, Cali- 

 fornia (W. A. Cooper), which are much alike, except that the 

 former has the centre of the abdomen, hinder flanks, and anal 

 region a rather deep, dull, grayish brown tinged with red, whereas 

 in the latter these parts are dull grayish white. Both have the red 

 of a deep "dragon's-blood" tint above, deepening on the head 

 into a tint intermediate between " Indian-red " and crimson (but 



*It is true that this is directly contrary to the experience of Messrs. Sharpe and 

 Dresser, who state (Birds of Europe, pt. xiv) that "the adult male is generally 

 duller than L. curvirostra, the red approaching to dirty orange;" but their obser- 

 vation was evidently based upon specimens not in perfect plumage. 



