534 TJ.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 23 7 part i 



vomitoria) ." These blowflies were, at the time, predominant among 

 the food items available. 



Alfred M. Bailey (1927) quotes Fred Gray of Wrangell, Alaska, 

 as stating that the birds "feed along the beach, among the boulders 

 at low tide, getting a species of snail, or shell fish." 



H. S. Swarth (1922), speaking of summering in British Columbia, 

 says that "At Glenora the crossbills were feeding on the seed pods 

 of the cottonwoods, as they were also in some degree at Doch-da-on 

 Creek, but farther down the river, and a littler later in the season, 

 the spruce cones had their undivided attention," 



W. H. Moore (1902) includes black alder and birch as sources of 

 food supply. 



John F. Ferry (1907) says of birds wintering in northern Illinois 

 that they are "fond of jumper berries and this fall Mr. R. J. Douglass 

 observed them feeding on dried sun-flower seeds, which were still 

 embedded in the withered flower." 



T. S. Roberts (1932) Hsts as food the seeds of crowberry, huckle- 

 berry, ragweed, and foxtail grass. He says that they also eat cater- 

 pillars and other larvae, and that they will devour greedily earth con- 

 taining salt. He attributes the presence of the birds at moose-licks 

 to the salt. This also may well be one of the reasons for the quickness 

 with which the species responds to the smoke rising from human 

 camp fires, a potential indication of salt. 



W. A. Stearns (1881) mentions decayed garden fruits as food and 

 notes that Mr. Maynard observed birds eating the seeds of beach 

 grass. Bau-d, Brewer, and Ridgway (1874a) tell of a bird Mr. Maynard 

 shot in Newton, Mass., on June 13, 1869. The bird was found in an 

 apple tree and its crop was full of caukerworms. A pair of caged 

 birds "ate almost every kind of food, but were especially eager for 

 slices of raw apples." 



Richard H. Manviile (1941) watched birds wintering in the Huron 

 Mountains of northern Michigan. Associated with redpolls, pine 

 siskins, and red crossbills, he says that there were about three of the 

 latter species to one white-winged crossbill and that "At one group of 

 buildings both species were commonly seen in white birches and nearby 

 Norway pines. Often the birds were grouped about the bases of 

 hard maples and hemlocks, pecking at the bark; also they were 

 greatly attracted to spots of dog urine in the snow. During this 

 period the temperature ranged approximately from 10° to SO** F., and 

 the snow depth from 16 to 30 inches on the level." 



Arthur H. Norton (1904) watched the species feeding in larch and 

 arborvitae trees. Breaking off the small cones, the birds would 

 seize them and search between the scales for seeds and even insect 

 matter. He says, "Where a flock is feeding the patter of faUing 



