PINICOLALOXIA 339 



Is an inhabitant of the woodlands, chiefly those of conifers, 

 and though said to be a stupid bird it certainly is not so in its 

 breeding-haunts where it is eminently cautious and wary, but 

 in the winter, when it wanders south it is trustful and 

 evidently ignorant of any danger from man, though I have 

 found them there even very shy where they have been subject 

 to persecution. Its foods consists of seeds, to a large extent 

 those of conifers, and of berries. Its note when flying from 

 tree to tree is a low, plaintive, and somewhat melodious 

 whistle, and its song somewhat resembles that of the Bullfinch, 

 but is sweeter and more varied. It breeds in the high north, 

 and its nest, which is placed on a conifer tree is lightly 

 constructed of fine twigs, lined with fine rootlets and grass or 

 moss. The eggs, usually 4 in number are pale blue, with a 

 greenish tinge, spotted and blotched with pale purplish shell-, 

 and dark brown surface-markings, and measure about 0'99 by 

 P 73. Mr. Ridgway separates the American bird into two 

 subspecies, P. enucleate canadensis and P. enucleator kodiaka, 

 and considers it subspecifically separable from our European 

 bird, but I fail to detect any difference. 



LOXIA, Linn., 1766. 



495. COMMON CROSSBILL. 

 LOXIA CURVIROSTRA. 



Loxia curvirostra, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 299 (1766) ; Naum. iv. p. 356, 

 Taf. 110 ; Audubon, B. Am. pi. 197 ; Gould, B. of E. iii. pi. 202 ; 

 id. B. of Gt. Brit. iii. pi. 45 ; Hewitson, i. p. 212, pi. liv. figs. 2, 3 ; 

 Newton, ii. p. 187 ; Dresser, iv. p. 127, pi. 203 ; Sharpe, Cat. B. Br. 

 Mus. xii. p. 435 ; Saunders, p. 201 ; Lilford, iv. p. 75, pi. 37 ; 

 Ridgway, p. 392. 



Bec-croist, French ; Cryza-bico, Portug. ; Pico-tuerto, Span. ; 

 <Crociere, Ital. ; Kreuzschnabd, German; Kruisbek, Dutch; 

 Mindre Korsnceb, Dan. ; Grau-Korsnceb, Norw. ; Mindre Korsncibb, 

 Swed, ; Kapylintu, Eistinokka, Finn. ; Klest-yelovik, Russ. 



$ ad. (Sweden). General colour dull red or brick-red, sometimes 

 varied with yellow, the rump brighter ; wings and tail dark brown, mar- 

 gined or tinged with red ; middle of abdomen greyish white, tinged with 

 red ; mandibles curved, crossing each other except^ in the nestling, dull 

 brown, darker at the tip ; legs dark brown ; iris dark hazel. Culmen 0*75, 

 wing 3'9, tail 2-6, tarsus 0*65 inch. In the female the red is replaced by 

 greenish yellow. 



z 2 



