148 



SINGIN'G BIRDS — OSCIXES. 



fliort ; claws all vorv lon^, thf lateral cxtcniling bc-_vimil tlu- uiidilk- ut' thi.' ecnlial ; liiinl 

 daw lunger than its iligit. Wings vcrv long and nuicli pointed, reaching bevond the mid- 

 dle of the narrow, forked tail. Colors reddish iii the male. 



Curvirostra Americana, Wilson. 



THE RED CROSSBILL. 



Currirostra Americana, Wilson, Am. Oin. IV. 1S41, 44 ; pi. xxxi. f. 1, 2. — Baikd, Binls 

 N. Anier. 427. — Lvria Aiiicriniiiu, Bo.\,\rAKTL, List, 1838. — Newbekuv, Zuul. C;d. 

 and Or. Route, P. K. R. Rep. VI. iv. 1857 87. 



Loxiu ciiri-irvstra, Forster Phil. Trans. LXII. 1772, No. 23. — Auuuuon, Biog. II. 1834, 5JU; 

 V. 511 ; pi. 197. Ib. Birds Amcr. III. 1841, 186 ; pi. 200. 



Loxla Mcxiaimt, Stuickl.vxd, B,\iud, P. R. Rcji. IX. Birds, 427, 924. 



Si>. C'li.vi:. Mule, dull red ; darkest across the back ; wings and tail dark blackish- 

 brown. Female, dnll greeni.sh-olive above, each feather with a dusky centre ; rump and 

 crown bright greenish-yellow. Beneath grayish ; tinged, especially on the sides of the 



Male. CalifovQia. 



Female. Pucet Sound. 



body, with greenish-yellow. Young entirely brown ; paler beneath. (Bill of the "\^'est- 

 ern about 0.20 inch longer than that of the Eastern bird.) 



Male, about 6 inches; extent, 10.25 ; wing, 3.30 ; tail, 2.25. Iris, bill, and feet, brown. 



Hab. North America generally, coming southward in winter, liesideiit in the moun- 

 tains of Penns\dvania and the Sierra Nevada, California. 



I found this curious bird in considerable numbers about the summits of 

 the Sierra Nevada, lat. 39°, in September, 1863, and Lave lieard of tlieir 

 being shot near San Francisco in winter, when they also ]U'obably wander as 

 far south as Monterey. Tlieir migrations are guided chiefly by tlie preva- 

 lence of the coniferous trees, whose seeds ■ constitute their ]>rincipal tViod, 

 especially those with small seeds and cones easily broken, such as the 

 spruces, cypresses, and red\\'oods. I have also seen Hocks of them descend 

 to the ground in the Eocky Mountains in quest of some seeds of small 

 plants, and they often come down to drink, especially about sunset. 



