American and White-Winged Crossbills 271 



female is of a dull olive-green, with dark mottlings on head and back and some 

 white below; while the young may be marked like the female or show a mixture 

 of red and green. But one characteristic marks alike male, female and young, 

 telling you their family name as plainly as the Chickadee calls his name — the tips 

 of the beak, or mandibles, are crossed as if they had been wrenched out of joint. 



There is no other species of bird with a beak precisely like this. Parrot-like 

 is a term frequently applied to the Crossbills, but though they live in flocks 

 and climb about using their claws very much like hands, in parrot-fashion, the 

 likeness does not extend to their beaks. The upper half of the hooked bill of 

 the Parrot closes over the lower so as to almost conceal it, but lacks the warp that 

 names the Crossbills. So much for identification. 



This Red Crossbill is usually the most common species seen in the eastern 

 and middle states, though at times they may be outnumbered by the White- 

 winged Crossbill. The latter is a mere fraction smaller in size and differs chiefly 

 in having tivo white wing bars, white on the belly and a decided pinkish tint 

 to the upper parts of the body and breast. Both species have a swift dipping 

 flight suggestive of that of the American Goldfinch, some of their call-notes 

 when on the wing also resembling those of their jolly little yellow brothers. 



While the White-winged Crossbill breeds quite regularly northward from 

 the northern United States, and appears only in its winter wanderings as far 

 south as Virginia, the Red Crossbill seems to be bound by no law as far as its 

 nesting habits are concerned, and it is perfectly possible to find a pair of them 

 nesting almost anywhere in New England. Perhaps on account of its being 

 the best known species we know more about the nesting habits of the Red 

 Crossbill. The nest itself is made of roots and twigs, moss-lined, and is usually 

 well up in an evergreen tree; the eggs are dull green, spotted on the large end 

 with brown and lavender. 



Dr. Coues mentions a nest found in Maine in the month of February, and a 

 nest has been found in East Randolph, Vermont, so early in March 

 Nest that the ground was covered with snow and the weather was 



very severe. The parents were so devoted to their young that 

 they could be lifted from the nest by hand. Mr. E. P. Bicknell has also found 

 a nest on April 22, in New York near the Connecticut line. Apropos of their 

 early nesting is the following note, which appeared in Bird-Lore: 



NESTING OF CROSSBILLS 



[Sir James M. Le Moine, of Quebec, well known for his works on Canadian birds, 

 sends us the following interesting note by a personal friend on the breeding of Crossbills 

 in March. — Ed. Bird-Lore.] 



" Quebec, 25th March, 1901. 



"Dear Sir James: About ten days ago I happened to be with a friend in 

 the woods, in the vicinity of the Grand Lac, Bastonnais. In the course of one 

 trip we had to visit several lumber camps and were told by choppers that they 

 had during the winter, in February and March, cut down many spruce and fir 



