BENDIRE'S CROSSBILL 515 



mostly at the larger end, consisting of splashes and specks of faint chocolate and 

 cinnamon, forming a washt surface in form of a broad, dull wreath about the large 

 end which is bare at the point, except in one egg in which the blotches extend 

 over the entire surface. Then there is on each of these three eggs a delicate 

 chocolate hair line encircling a small portion of the larger end. Hanging on these 

 lines are a few tear shaped dots of black. In all these sets there is a resemblance 

 to eggs of the Orchard Oriole. In several eggs there is a faint flush of subdued 

 purplish stain. 



All of the above measurements are in hundreths of an inch. 



Three eggs taken by J. A. Munro (1919) measure 15X20, 15X20 and 

 14X19 millimeters. 



The measurements of 40 eggs average 21.1 by 15.2 millimeters; 

 the eggs showing the four extremes measure 22.8 by 15.3, 20.5 by 

 16.1, and 19.0 by I4.O millimeters. 



We seem to have no information on the period of incubation, 

 which is apparently the duty of the female alone. Nor do we know 

 anything about the care and development of the young, except that 

 adults have been seen feeding fully grown young that have left the 

 nest. 



McCabe and McCabe (1933) discuss in some detail the possi- 

 bility of young crossbills nesting the same year they are hatched and 

 conclude that evidence confirms this extraordinary departure at 

 times from usual passerine habits. 



Plumages. — The molts and plumages correspond to those of the 

 eastern bird. 



Food. — The traditional food of this and other crossbills consists of 

 seeds of coniferous trees, the specialized bill being well fitted for 

 extracting the seeds from the bases of cone scales. They also eat 

 the tender buds and soft green cones of these trees. Miss Ruby Curry 

 writes to me that "While at Tuolome Meadows last summer, we were 

 interested in the activities of the Sierra crossbills, which were hanging 

 like chickadees, working on small fresh cones of the lodge pole pines, 

 cutting them from the ends of the branches, then taking them to 

 larger branches, where they could feed on them more easily." 



J. A. Munro (1919) saw a small flock of Bendire's crossbills "feeding 

 on green choke-cherries and tiny salmon-colored lepidopterous larvae 

 that crawled on the under sides of the poplar leaves. To reach these 

 the birds hang head downward in the position they often assume when 

 extracting fir seeds from the cones." 



Joe T. Marshall, Jr. (1957) states: "Although there was no evidence 

 of * * * breeding in pine-oak areas, it often fed on seeds of the pines. 

 Examination of eight specimens showed that they cram the esophagus 

 with seeds until it is greatly distended; they also ingest gravel. 

 Apparently they eat their fill in a short time, and this explains their 

 periods of inactivity in shade within clumps of conifers. The stomachs 



646-737 — 68 — pt. 1 35 



