14 



BULLETIN 1249, II. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



cankerworms. Many other observers have recorded white-winged 

 crossbills as feeding on the seeds of conifers and weeds; and the 

 birds are also reported to have eaten frozen apples, but no evidence 

 of this was found in the stomachs examined. 



Conclusions. — It is apparent that the white-winged, as well as 

 the red, crossbill depends to a large extent upon seeds of conifers 

 for its sustenance throughout the year. The beak is especially 

 adapted for extracting these seeds from the cones in which they 

 grow, and it is probable that the bird could subsist entirely upon 

 such food. In the great coniferous forests the eating of pine seed 

 is of no economic importance, and as the few insects the bird eats 

 are harmful the balance would seem to be slightly in its favor. 

 The only source of complaint against the white-winged crossbill is 

 found in the bud-eating habit, and in view of the comparative rarity 

 of the species any injurious effect would be improbable even if buds 

 furnished a far greater percentage of its diet than is shown by 

 this study. So long as this bird continues as harmless in its food 

 habits as at present known, it fully deserves the protection accorded 

 it. 



Food items of the white-winged crossbill, identified to the genus or species, as 

 determined by the examination of 5.2 stomachs. 



[The figures indicate the number of stomachs in wMch the items were found.] 



Vegetable Food. 



Pinaceae. 



Picea sp. (spruce) 19 



Tsuga canadensis (hem- 

 lock) 8 



Abies balsamea (balsam fir)_ 1 



Juniperus .sp. (juniper) 1 



Poaceae. 



Chaetochl oa sp. (foxtail 

 grass) 1 



Empetraceae. 



Empetrum nigrum (crow- 

 berry) 1 



Vacciniaceae. 



Oaylussacia sp. ( huckleberry ) _ 1 

 Ambrosiaceae. 



Ambrosia sp. (ragweed) 2 



Asteraceae. 



Helianthus sp. (sunflower) __ 2 



HOARY REDPOLL (Acanthis hornemanni exilipes). 



Only 11 stomachs of this rare straggler from the north were avail- 

 able for examination, and 6 of these were from Fort Simpson, Can- 

 ada. E. A. Preble 18 reported the hoary redpolls of this region as 

 feeding on the seeds of dwarf birch (Betula nana), canoe birch 

 (Betula papyri/era), and two alders (Alnus incana and A. alno- 

 oetula [=sinuata] ) . The six stomachs collected by Preble contained 

 seeds of birch and alder. The remaining five from Michigan and 

 Maine contained seeds of knotweed (Polygonum) , stink grass (Era- 

 grostis), sedge (Carex), pigweed (Amaranthus) , and an unidentified 

 seed. 



The food of this redpoll probably differs little from that of the 

 common redpoll (Acanthis linaria), which is discussed at greater 

 length in the succeeding section. 



18 A biological investigation of the Athabaska-Mackenzie region : U. S. Dept. Agr., 

 North Amer. Fauna No. 27, p. 418, 1908. 



