THE NESTS AND EGGS OF 



Family FRINGILLID.^. Genus LoxiA. 



Sub-family FKINGILLIN^. 



AMERICAN WHITE-WINGED CROSS- 

 BILL. 



LoxiA LEUCOPTERA, Gfueliu. 



(British : Rare nomadic autumn migrant.) 



Number of broods unknown. Laying season, March and April. 



Breeding area : Northern Nearctic region. The 

 American White-winged Crossbill probably breeds 

 throughout Canada and Alaska in all suitable districts 

 up to the limit of forest growth. 



Breeding habits : Even in the rigorous climate of 

 British North America this White-winged Crossbill is 

 a very early breeder, and begins nesting long before the 

 snow is off the ground. But little has been recorded of 

 the habits of this species. Its favourite breeding haunts 

 are belts and plantations of fir and other coniferous 

 trees. Whether it breeds in scattered colonies seems 

 not to be known ; whether it pairs annually or remains 

 united for life is still undetermined. The nest is usually 

 made in a pine or fir tree, twenty or more feet from the 

 ground, and is described as a deep saucer-shaped 

 structure made externally of spruce twigs and fibrous 

 lichens, lined with hair and shreds of inner bark. A nest 

 obtained by Dr. Adams at Fredericton in New Brunswick 

 is said by Messrs. Baird, Brewer, and Ridgway to 

 measure a little under four inches in external diameter, 

 and the cavity to be two and a half inches across and 

 one and a half inches in depth. The behaviour of the 

 parents at the nest when disturbed is still undescribed. 



Range of egg colouration and measurement: 

 The eggs of the American White-winged Crossbill are 



