FAM. XIII. FINCHES, SPARROWS, ETC. 



117 



American Crosstill 



tail, and no white on the wings. The back is brownish, the 

 rump bright red, and the tail short and deeply notched. 

 The female has the 

 red replaced by olive- 

 green, with the rump 

 yellowish. These 

 birds are very irregu- 

 lar in their appear- 

 ance at any locality, 

 but always come in 

 flocks and are usu- 

 ally found among the 

 cone-bearing trees, ex- 

 tracting the seeds by 

 their peculiar bills, the lower mandible of which curves up- 

 wards, its point crossing that of the uj)per one. In climbing 

 about the trees, they act much like parrots. They fly in close 

 ranks in a peculiarly undulating manner. (Red Crossbill.) 



Length, 6; wing, 3| (3J-3|) ; tail, 2}; tarsus, f ; culmen, |. North- 

 ern North America ; breeding in northern United States (south in the 

 mountains to Georgia), and winteringirregularly south to Louisiana. 



5. White-winged Crossbill (522. Ldxia leucdinera). — A bird 

 similar to the last in action and coloring, but the pinkish red 



of the body is much 

 brighter, and the 

 wings and tail black- 

 er, and it has large 

 white blotches on the 

 wings. The female 

 has a dull olive-green 

 body, yellow rump, 

 and white-blotched 

 black wings. This 

 bird is rare, but can 



White-winged Crossbill 



be easily recognized by the white of the wing coverts and the 

 greater noise it makes while feeding. 



