THES OreSOuSEMIEAN NWA.) 17 
THE GROSSBILLS. 
BY WM. L. KELLS, LISTOWEL, ONT., CANADA. 
The genus Zoxza is one of the many sub-divisions into which the 
family Fringillide is divided. This genus is represented among 
Canadian birds by two species ; viz., the American Crossbill (Zoxza 
curvirostra minor) and the White-winged Crossbill (Zoxza Jeucop- 
tera). These are both northern species, whose plumage and _ habits 
differ little and who are seldom seen in central Ontario except in the 
winter season ; but during that period small flocks of them move 
much further south, and in the mountain regions of the far west they 
are reported as observed, at most seasons of the year, as far south as 
Colorado, but at any time seem comparatively rare in Alaska. 
The Crossbills receive their general name from the peculiar form 
of their bill, the upper mandible of which crosses the lower in an ap- 
parently distorted manner, but which in reality wonderfully assists 
them in procuring their food, which is chiefly the seeds of the ever- 
green. ‘These birds are also known to nest in the winter season. 
THE AMERICAN CROSSBILL. 
Loxia Ourvirostra Minor. 
This species, also called the Red Crossbill, is one of those birds 
that usually make their appearance in Ontario with the first heavy 
snow-fall in the beginning of the winter season, though occasionally 
small wandering flocks have been observed at other times. 
The Red Crossbill is about six inches in length. The plumage of 
the male, when it attains maturity, is generally of a beautiful reddish 
hue, varied with brown, the wings and tail being blackish. The plu- 
mage of the female is of a brownish-olive, variously marked with other 
dusky hues ; the markings on the rump are of a saffron color. The 
mandibles of the beak cross,each other, sometimes on one side and 
sometimes on the other. 
Some winters these birds appear in large numbers in some localities 
and, again, years may pass away and none of them be seen. Their 
appearance, however, is mostly regulated by their food supply, and 
the observations of years leads to the conclusion that in tracts 
