[550] BIRDS OF OREGON 



by many writers, and stock-salting stations in our mountains are favored 

 spots that are visited regularly. 



Crossbills are difficult to observe at close range as they often fly from 

 the top of one high conifer to another, far above ground. When feeding 

 quietly in such lofty situations, their presence can be detected only by 

 the steady rain of seed coats and wings as they shell out the seeds. When 

 they take flight in straggling flocks, it is usually to the accompaniment 

 of a wheezy call note that is uttered at irregular intervals during the 

 flight. The note, once learned, is so characteristic that passing flocks can 

 frequently be more readily detected by ear than by eye. The birds are of 

 little or no economic importance but contribute much of interest to the 

 nature lover because of their curiously specialized bills and uncertain 

 ways. 



Bendire's Crossbill: 



Loxia curvirostra bendirei Ridgway 



DESCRIPTION. Same as L. c. sitkensis but larger. Si%e: Length (skins) 5.31-6.13, 

 wing 3.30-3.82., tail 1.70-1.15, bill .64 .81. Nest and eggs: Same as for L. c. sitkensis. 

 DISTRIBUTION. General: Breeds in mountains from British Columbia, Montana, 

 Wyoming, and Colorado to and including Cascades and Sierra Nevadas, of Wash- 

 ington, Oregon, and California. In Oregon: Permanent resident of eastern slope of 

 Cascades, wooded portions of Lake and Klamath Counties, and all timbered parts 

 of Blue Mountain area. Appears in western Oregon only as straggler. 



BENDIRE'S CROSSBILL, with its comparatively huge bill, was first recorded 

 by Bendire (Brewer 1875), wno found it near Camp Harney. It is a com- 

 mon permanent resident of the eastern part of the State, where it is as 

 abundant and erratic as sitkensis is in the western part of the State. It is 

 possible to find newly fledged young at almost any season of the year, 

 although our only actual nesting record is of a nest found by Jewett at 

 Sisters in July 1914. The female was observed on July 2.1 carrying nesting 

 material to a site 90 feet up in a yellow-pine tree, and the nest and one 

 egg were taken on July 2.6. 



There are two birds in our series taken at Netarts, February 8 and n, 

 1915 (Jewett Collection Nos. mo and mi), that seem clearly to belong 

 to this race. This is not surprising, as such erratic wanderers are apt to 

 appear at any point. Aside from these two birds and the single one from 

 Wallowa mentioned under sitkensis, our specimens fit well into the con- 

 cept of the range of the two subspecies as outlined. Curiously enough, 

 birds from the territory south of Bend have bills that average the largest, 

 although there are individuals from the Blue Mountains with huge 

 mandibles. This huge-billed bird from the country between Bend and 

 Klamath Falls early attracted the attention of Ridgway, who published 

 (18840) a subspecies based on birds from Fort Klamath that was the 

 original description of this form. 



