FEINGILLID^ — THE FINCHES. 227 



"The elongated, compressed, falcate-curved, and overlapping man- 

 dibles readily characterize tliis genus among birds. This feature, 

 however, only belongs to grown specimens, the young having a 

 straight bill as in other Finches." {Hist. N. Am. B.) 



The two North American species of this genus may be very readily 

 distinguished by the uniformly brownish wings of L. minor, and 

 the conspicuous white spots or bands on the greater and middle 

 wing-coverts in L. leucoptera, — these differences characterizing both 

 sexes, at all ages. 



Loxia curvirostra minor (Brehm). 



AMEBICAir CBOSSEILL. 

 Popular ajnoriym. American Red Crossbill. 



Loxia curvirostra FoEST. Phil. Trans. Ixii, 1772, 402 {nee Linn).— Nutt. Man. i,]832, 583.— 



AuD. Orn. Biog. ii, 1834, 559; v. 1839, 511, pi. 197; Synop. 1839, 128; B. Am. iii, 1841, 186, 



pi. 200. 

 Curvirostra amerieana Wils. Am. Orn. iv, 1811, 44, pi. 31, flgs. 1,2.— Baied, B. N. Am. 



1858, 426; Cat. N. Am. B. 1859, No. 318. 

 Loxia curvirostra var. amerieana CouES, Key, 1872, 351; Check List, 1873, No. ; B. 



N. W. 1874, 109.-B. B. & K. Hist. N. Am. B. i, 1874, pi. 23, flgs. 1, 4. 

 Loxia curvirostra amerieana Eidgw. Nom. N. Am. B. 1881, No. 172.— CouES, 2d Clieck 



List, 1882, No. 199. 

 Curvirostra minor Beehm, Naum. 1853, 193. 



Loxia curvirostra minor KiDGW. Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus. viii, 1885, 354. 



Hab. Temperate North America, breeding from northern border of United States 

 north to portions of Alaska, and on higher mountain ranges south to Pennsylvania, East- 

 ern Tennessee, etc. (In Rocky Mountains and other higher western ranges replaced in 

 summer bythe much larger //. curvirostra mexicana.) South to Virginia, Tennessee, etc. 



"Sp. Chab. Old male dull red (the shade differingln the specimen, sometimes brick- 

 red, sometimes vermilion, etc.) ; darkest across the back; wings and tail dark blaekish- 

 brown. Young male yellowish. J^efliaie dull greeniSh-olive above, each leather with a 

 dusky center; rump and crown bright greenish yellow. Young olive above; whitish be- 

 neath, conspicuously streaked above and below with blackish. Male about 6 inches; 

 wing. 3.30; tail, 2.25." [Hist. N. A7n. B.) 



Perhaps no birds are more erratic in their movements than the 

 Crossbills; and this observation applies no less to their habits dur- 

 ing the breeding season than at other times. They appear and 

 disappear from a given locality in the most unexpected manner, and 

 it probably cannot be said of any district that any species of this 

 genus is a constant inhabitant during any portion of the year. In 

 Illinois, the present species is an irregular \dsitant throughout the 

 State, being of course more rare and uncertain in the southern than 

 in the northern portion. 



