518 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 23 7 tabt i 



northern interior British Columbia (Atlin, Telegraph Creek, Nulk 

 Lake) south, east of the Cascade Mountains, to southern Oregon 

 (Fort Klamath, Malheur River), central Idaho (Alturas Lake), 

 northwestern Wyoming (Yellowstone Park), central southern 

 Montana (Shriver) , and southwestern Saskatchewan (Cypress Hills) ; 

 extends southwest to the Trinity Mountains section of California 

 (French Camp, White Rock Ranger Station). 



Winter range. — Same as breeding range except for sporadic wander- 

 ing west to southeastern Alaska (Admiralty Island) and south to 

 Central Baja California (Guadalupe Island, Sierra San Pedro Mdrtir), 

 southeastern Arizona (Huachuca and Chiricahua mountains), south- 

 ern New Mexico (Cloudcrof t) , western Texas (Frijole), and eastern 

 Kansas (Lawrence). 



Egg dates. — Alberta : 2 records, March 3 and May 2. 



Montana: 1 record, July 27. 



LOXIA CURVIROSTRA SITKENSIS Grinnell 



Sitka Crossbill 



Habits 



When Joseph GrinneU (1909) originally named this small crossbill 

 from the Sitka region of Alaska, he described it as similar "in size 

 to the smaller individuals of Loxia curvirostra minor (Brehm) Ridg- 

 way, of the Atlantic region of North America, but general coloration 

 different: in adult male about orpiment orange, instead of the deep 

 brownish crimson or coral red as in minor." 



L. Griscom (1937) defines the normal breeding range as "The 

 humid coastal strip of the northwestern Pacific coast district from 

 southern Alaska south along the coast of British Columbia, including 

 the Queen Charlotte and Vancouver Islands, to the coastal ranges of 

 Washington and northwestern Oregon." 



According to J. A, Munro (1947), in British Columbia Loxia 

 curvirostra is "Resident, at some times, in all the forested bio tic 

 areas. Violently cyclic in numbers." He states the race sitkensis 

 is the one most commonly found in the coast forests while bendirei 

 habits the interior parts of the province and is sporadic on the coast. 



Griscom (1937) records wandering as far north as Portage Bay, 

 Kodiak Island, Unalaska, and St. Michaels. "South irregularly to the 

 northern half of California (numerous years). East irregularly 

 through the lower passes into the interior of southern British Colum- 

 bia and still more rarely crossing the Rocky Mountains. In the 

 winter of 1887-1888 a great irruption eastward took place, paralleling 

 the famous flight of evening grosbeaks in 1890. This Crossbill 



