AMERICAN WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL. 37 



confounded with our Common American Crossbill. Those 

 which I met with on the islands before-mentioned were 

 observed on their margins, some having alighted on the bare 

 rocks ; and all those which were alarmed immediately took 

 to wing, rose to a moderate height, and flew directly east- 

 ward. On my passage across the Gulf of St. Lawrence to 

 Labrador, in the same month, about half-a-dozen White- 

 winged Crossbills, and as many Mealy Redpoles, one day 

 alighted on the top yards of our vessel ; but before we 

 could bring our guns from below they all left us, and flew 

 ahead, as if intent on pointing out to us the place to which 

 we were bound. Within the limits of the United States 

 I have obtained some during winter along the hilly shores 

 of the Schuylkil River in Pennsylvania ; also in New Jersey, 

 and in one instance in Maryland, a few miles from Balti- 

 more, beyond which, southward, I have never met with this 

 species, nor have I heard of any having been seen there. 

 Its song is at times mellow and agreeable, and in captivity 

 it becomes gentle and familiar." 



Young birds have the beak of dark horn colour ; towards 

 the point the upper mandible is so compressed that the 

 edges are almost united ; the lower mandible rather lighter 

 in colour ; the feathers at the base of the beak, near the 

 nostrils, greyish white ; irides dark brown ; head, neck, 

 and back, dull greenish grey, mottled with a darker tint, 

 which pervades the centre of each feather ; the rump tinged 

 with greenish yellow ; the under surface of the body is of 

 a lighter grey, longitudinally streaked with dusky brown ; 

 the shoulders mottled with two shades of dull greyish 

 brown ; both sets of wing-coverts dull black, with white 

 tips, forming two conspicuous bars across the wings ; all 

 the quill-feathers nearly black ; the primaries and second- 

 aries with very narrow lighter-coloured edges ; the tertials 

 edged and tipped with white ; the tail forked, the feathers 



