' THE ORNITHOLOGICAL GUIDE. 71 



as possible, both as being generally less euphoneus 

 and also as they destroy the uniformity. A generic 

 character should not be made the foundation of a 

 srjecific name. It is a generic character of the 

 genus Crossbill {Crucirostra, Meyer) to have the 

 mandibles crossed, notwithstanding which, Temmink 

 and other Zoologists have called the Common Cross- 

 bill — " Loxia curvirostra? as if curvirostra would 

 not equally apply to every species of Crossbill. 

 Linneus also called it L. curvirostra, and according 

 to his system the name was correct, for the Common 

 Crossbill (the only species with which he was 

 acquainted) was placed in his extensive genus Gros- 

 beak, (Loxia) and thus curvirostra served to dis- 

 tinguish the species from the others : Pennant, who 

 followed this arrangement, called the bird the Cross- 

 billed Grosbeak (L. curvirostra.) Wilson, however, 

 saw the absurdity of this arrangement, and comments 

 on it as follows : — " Hitherto this bird* has, as 

 usual, been considered a mere variety of the Euro- 

 pean species; though differing from it in several 

 respects, and being nearly one-thud less, and 

 although the singular conformation of the bill of 

 these birds and their peculiarity of manners are 

 strikingly different from the Grosbeaks, yet many, 

 disregarding these plain and obvious discriminations, 



* Wilson is here describing the bird he calls the " American 

 Crossbill, Crucirostra Americana ;" this species is now generally con- 

 sidered identical with the Pipin Crossbill (Crucirostra malum, Wood ; 

 Crucirostra vulgaris, of Stephens.) 



