46 RED-POLL. 



Gentjs. RED-POLLS. Acanthis. 



Bill, very short, sharply pointed, outline of upper mandi- 

 ble curved, straight, or even convex. Nostrils, concealed by 

 nasal tufts. Wings long, folding beyond the middle of the 

 rather deeply forked tail. Small birds streaked above and be- 

 low with dusky, but with the dull colors relieved by crimson 

 on the crown, rosy on the breast, and sometimes on the rump. 

 We have three species and one sub-species. 



Red-poll. 



Acanthis linaria. 

 Plate XI, Fig. 2. 

 Small birds, ashy white, streaked broadly on back, and lined 

 on rump, with dark brown. There is a dusky spot on the 

 throat and streaks of the same color on the sides. Top of 

 head crimson, rump and lower parts, excepting abdomen and 

 under tail coverts, tinged with rosy. Wings brown, banded 

 with whitish and with the feathers, margined with ashy. Tail, 

 also brown, edged with ashy. Females and young, similar to 

 the male, but lack the rosy tinting below and on the rump, 

 but the top of head is always crimson. Nestlings are streaked 

 above and below, and do not have the red on the crown. 



Dimensions. Length, 5.00; stretch, 8.60; wing, 2.75; 

 tail, 2.35 ; bill, .38; tarsus, .32. 



Comparisons. Distinguished from the closely allied Pine 

 Siskin by the crimson on the crown. This and the general 

 ashy gray colors, streaked with darker, will serve to separate 

 it from all other species, excepting from other Red-polls, of 

 which comparative descriptions are given. 



