WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL 531 



Analogous is the case of a bird coUected by Robie W. Tufts on Sept. 4, 

 1924, at Tabusintac, New Brunswick. Writing Mr. Bent of this he 

 says, "the testes were normal size of a breeding bird." On the 

 occasion in question he had been watching a colony of about a dozen 

 pairs and says, "I was attracted by their loud singing and boisterous 

 chatterings, all of which suggested nesting birds. * * * I watched 

 the flock for all the time I could spare but was not successful in locating 

 a nest though from time to time a male bird was seen to suddenly 

 leave the feeding flock as though taking food to the mate." He 

 points out that the nest of this species is not distinguishable from that 

 of the red crossbill. Where low spruces grew in open pasture land, 

 "it was a simple matter to locate a nest by watching the noisy male 

 leave the feeding grove. He would alight on a nearby tree and chirp 

 loudly for a moment or two before dropping to the edge of the nest 

 which would invariably be close at hand. A few nests of this species, 

 * * * well out from the trunk" were high up in the trees. 



John Macoun (1909) quotes Walter Raine who describes a nest 

 "as made of fine roots and twigs, lined with moss and animals* fur." 

 Henry Nehrling (1896) speaks of a nest near Ascanaba, Mich., which 

 was in "dense evergreen woods, and was placed in the top of a small 

 pine about twenty-five feet from the ground." The inside diameter 

 was 2.75 inches and the depth 1.75 inches. 



Frederick C. Schmid writes me of finding a nest July 27, 1945, in 

 southern Yukon territory. The exact location of this far northern 

 record was mile post 843, between Squanga and Little Teslin Lake, 

 on the Alaskan Military Highway. The nest was about the size of 

 that of a robin, rather deep, composed of twigs and a little grass, 10 

 feet up in a black spruce bog. After flushing an adult off the nest 

 he noted the three young were a sooty black color, eyes not yet opened, 

 gape a brilliant scarlet, bill uncrossed. 



Eggs. — Joseph Grinnell (1900a) states the eggs are ovate and gives 

 measurements of .86 by .61 inches and .84 by .60 inches. He says, 

 "The ground-color is an extremely pale tint of blue. One egg has 

 scattering illy-defined spots and blotches of pale chocolate. The 

 other egg has numerous very pale lavender markings, and, mostly 

 at the larger end, a number of spots and four large blotches of dark 

 seal-brown." An egg from another nest was .77X.58, "almost white 

 (before blown, pinkish) wnth scattering abruptly-defined spots and 

 lines of bay and fawn-color, most numerous at the larger end." 

 O. L. Austin, Jr. (1932) mentions black spots, as does Henry 

 Nehrling (1896), who describes the dots additionally as ashy-lilac. 

 Andrew L. Adams (1873) mentions red streaks on the larger end of 

 bluish-white eggs. E. H. Forbush (1929) states the usual number is 

 2 to 4 with dimensions of .77 to 86 inches by .56 to .61 inches; ovate; 



646-737 — 6S— pt. 1 36 



