THE NIDOLOGIST 53 
Notes on the American Crossbill. 
BY BENJAMIN HOAG. 
UST after sunset on June 15, 1896, a 
bird song unfamiliar and bewitchingly 
sweet, beguiled me from business in 
search of the singer. Crossing the street to 
a couple of tall poplars growing on the 
bank of the sparkling Kenderhook, perched 
on a dead twig high up near the top of one 
of those trees, I found the object of my 
search, but the song immediately ceased, 
and the author dropped down among the 
leaves. Low, whispering notes were now 
heard coming from different parts of the 
trees, and with the aid ot the field-glass I 
caught a momentary glimpse of the birds 
as they moved about in the thick foliage, 
but was unable to distinguish colors or 
markings. Simultaneously with my decision 
to get the gun, they left in a scattering 
flock of six or eight, uttering call notes as 
they went. I watched them disappear in 
the gathering dusk of the evening, then 
returned to the store with feelings of min- 
gled pleasure and disappointment, wouder- 
ing how long, with only remembrance of 
their notes as a clew, their identity would 
remain a mystery. 
The call notes and songs which haunted 
my dreams that night were a reality the 
next day, and many days thereafter, and I 
have the pleasure of recording the American 
Crossbill (Loxia curvirostra minor) as a 
snmmer bird of this locality. I climbed 
the populars after the birds came the next 
morning, and on nearly every leaf-stem I 
found a gall of the poplar-stem gall-louse.* 
The Crossbills were biting these galls open 
to feed on the insects with which they were 
filled. [he birds continued to visit the 
populars until scarcely a gall could be 
found which had not been opened and the 
lice eaten. A big tamarack loaded with 
cones, standing inthe yard close by, also 
received their attention; the ground under- 
neath this was soon covered with a thick 
carpet ot cones which they had cut off and 
extracted the seeds from. Sometimes the 
seeds were obtained without cutting the 
cone off, but asa rule the birds quickly cut 
the cone from the twig, and swinging them- 
selves to a firmer perch, held the cone in 
their claws while it was emptied of its con- 
tents. 
I several times found two or three near 
the back door of the store, wherea quantity 
of fine salt had been scattered cn the 
ground, ‘The peculiar formation of their 
mandibles did not seem to allow of the fine 
grains being picked up with them, but the 
bird’s head was turned to one side and the 
tongue run out along the ground, the salt 
adhering to it being obtained in that 
manner. 
Several times in June I saw flocks appar- 
ently composed of young birds, not many 
weeks from the nest, accompanied by their 
parents, who were still feeding them. 
On July 12, in attempting to secure a 
beautiful red male from a flock in the top 
of the tamarack, I shot a female, a proceed- 
ing which I regret very much, as an almost 
fully developed egg was found in her 
oviduct, and others in different stages of 
development in her ovaries. 
Early the next morning a red male in 
perfect adult breeding plumage appeared 
and was about all day, uttering call notes 
and flying restlessly from place to place. 
Undoubtedly it was his mate that I shot 
the day before. 
After this occurrence I searched diligently 
for nests but in vain, thoug; I several 
times saw pairs of birds which I had good 
reason to think were mated. 
Small flocks were recorded almost every 
day from June 15 until August 12, after 
which I did not see them again in 1895. 
This season (1896) I saw them first on 
May 26, a flock of six. They were then 
noted at intervals until July 28. But they 
did not come often nor stay long about the 
village, as the tamaracks did not have many 
cones on them this season, and there were 
very few gails on the poplars. 
November 13, while Grouse haunting 
several miles north of this village, I met 
with the species again in a large tract of 
pines, fully fifty birds being counted. 
Again on November 16, close to the vil- 
lage in some hemlocks on the border of a 
swamp I found ten or twelve, and with 
them four or five of the White- winged 
species (Loxia leucoptera). 
I hope for time to make a thorough 
search for their nesting localities the com- 
ing year, as I am satisfied that somewhere 
about the coniferous woods in this town 
nidification of the American Red Crossbill 
has taken place the past two seasons. 
Stephentown, New York. 
*The late Professor C. V. Riley kindly identified the galls 
for me. 
