CEOSSBILLS. 347 



Nilsson's description of the L. lifasciata is, length 6 to 

 6^ in.; from carpus joint 3 to 7 L; beak at the root -^ in. high 

 and -fV m - broad ; upper mandible -f in. long at point,, strongly 

 bent, long and pointed ; under mandible -^ in. at point, short ; 

 tail nearly 2 in. 3 L; cloven reaches nearly 1 in. beyond the 

 closed wings ; tarsus -f- in. ; middle toe without the claw nearly 

 half an inch, with the claw 5-^- 1. The three outer primaries 

 alike ; beak and legs brown. His description of the colour- 

 ing will not help us in determining the species. 



Kjarbolling's description does not assist us at all. He 

 only describes the white bars on the wings, and says, ({ that 

 this lesser North American species," etc. 



Wright gives the dimensions of the beak in the Finland 

 specimens upper mandible 5J 1. long; under mandible 5 1.; 

 height of the beak at the root 3J L; breadth of the under 

 mandibte at the root 3 1. 



The principal differences between the European and the 

 American white-winged crossbill appear to be that the first 

 is larger in the body ; the beak is much larger (nearly as 

 large as in the common crossbill), less compressed than in 

 the American bird, and the point shorter. The tail is much 

 less forked, and the plumage is not so brilliant a crimson. 

 In YarrelPs representation of the two birds, there is one 

 striking difference which, if correct, will serve to distin- 

 guish the birds at a glance. In the European bird the tips 

 of the closed wings reach very little further than the root of 

 the tail, whereas in the American bird they reach fully, if 

 not more than half way down the tail. 



Whichever the Scandinavian species may be, it is only 

 an accidental visitant to Scandinavia, Finland, or Denmark, 

 and has not been detected breeding in any of these coun- 

 tries. According to Lilljeborg, it breeds very commonly 

 near Archangel. 



Fam. 8. COLUMBINI. 



Beak straight, compressed; upper mandible covered at 

 the base with a soft swollen membrane, in which the nostrils 



