L O X 



ef its alcalde major. It was one of the firft towns founded 

 in this province, and at the fame time one of the molt opu- 

 lent; but it is at prefent in a mean condition, owing chiefly 

 to the decay of us mines, on which account moll of the 

 Spanilh families have retired, fome to Cuen9a, and others to 

 l,oja ; fo that at prefent its inhabitants are faid not to ex- 

 ceed 6000. The declenfion cf thele mines, which is owing 

 to the negligence of thofe that are concerned in working 

 them, more than to a fcarcity of tiie metal, has been dif- 

 advantageous to the whole department of Loja ; and con- 

 fequently diminiilied tiie number of its inhabitants. S. lat. 4'. 

 W. long. 79~ 14'. 



LoxA, a town of Sweden, in the province of Savolax ; 

 108 miles N. of Nyllot. 



LOXARTHRUS, (from m|o.-, oblique, and <x.pp,, a 

 joint,) in Surgery, deformity of a joint. 



LOXIA, \n Natural H'lflory, a genus of birds of the 

 order pafle:es, of which, according to Latham, there are 

 eighty-five fpecies ; but in the lail edition of Gmelin, tliere 

 are an hundred fpecies enumerated and defcribed. This 

 latter arrangement wd' Ihall follow in the prefent article. 

 The elTential charafter is as follows : the bill is ftrong, 

 thick, convex, rounded at the bafe ; the lower mandible is 

 bent in at the edge ; the noftrils are fmall, and round at the 

 bafe of the bill ; the tongue is trunca'.e. The familiar name 

 of this genus is grnjhiah. 



In the loxia, cniberiza, and fringilla genera, both man- 

 dibles are moveable, by which means they are able to Hiell 

 and break in pieces the feeds they feed upon. Of this 

 numerons tribe there are but live fpecies that are Britilli, 

 which will be noticed by afterilks prefixed to the fpeciiic 

 names. 



Species. 



* CuuviROSTRA ; Common cnf^-bill. Mandibles crofTrng 

 each other; body varying in colour; wings and forked tail 

 brown. Linn, Le bcc-cro'ife, BrifT. Shrhl-apple, or crofs- 

 hill, Willoiigiibv. This is the moll remarkable bird of the 

 whole genus. Both mandibles are hooked, and turned dif- 

 ferent ways, fo that they do not meet in a point. The bill, 

 however, is not uniformly in the fame diredlion : in fome in- 

 . dividuals the under mandible is twilled to the right, in 

 others to the left fide ; a circumllance tliac has been noticed, 

 to prove that the variation in the bill is rather ownig to cer- 

 tain ufes to which it is applied by the bird, than to any fixed 

 appointment in nature. This fpecies is found fometimcs in 

 Britain, though it is not by any means a conllant vifitor in 

 thefe iflands. It inhabits more generally the northern 

 countries of Europe, efpecially. fome parts of Germany, 

 Switzerland, Rufiia, Sweden, &c. where it is permanent 

 the whole year. Birds of this fpecies migrate, from un- 

 known caufes, into other countries, not regularly, but in 

 the courfe of feveral years. They inhabit the pir.e forefts, 

 and feed upon the cones ; for the fcahng of which their bills 

 are admirably formed. This bird is obferved to hold the cone 

 in one rlaiv, like the parrot ; and to have- all the actions of 

 that bird, when kept in a cage. It is laid to make its neft 

 in the very higlieft parts of the fir trees, faflening it to the 

 branch with the refinous matter which exudes from the trees. 

 Mr. Latham fays, " I have never heard of its breeding in 

 England, but know one inftance of its being (hot at large 

 in the middle of fummer. I have been told that they have 

 done great damage in orchards, by tearing the apples to 

 pieces for the fake of the feeds, the only part they delight 

 in. Many are taken with a bird-call and bird-hmc, and 

 others by a horfe-hair noofe fixed to a long fifhihg-rod : for 

 fo intent are they on picking out the feeds of the cone, that 



L O X 



they will fuffcr thcmfclves to be taken by the noofe being 

 put over the head. 



There are two varieties : the one reddiTh, head fcarJct ; 

 the other larger, bill thicker and fhortcr. The male is red, 

 varied with brown and green, and is faid to change its 

 colours thrice a year ; the female is olive-green, mixed with 

 brown. 



Lkucoptera ; White-winged grolbeatc. Mandible* 

 crofling each other ; feathers whitifli, edged with red ; rump 

 pale red ; vent whitilh ; tail and wings black, the latter 

 with two white bands. It inhabits North America ; is 

 about fix inches long. The bill is of a horn colour ; legs 

 are brown. Latham received fpecimens both from Hud- 

 Ion's Bay and New York. 



Psnr.vcE.v ; Parrot-billed grofbeak. Olive colour ; 

 quill and even tail-feathers edged with ycllowilh ; lower 

 mandible much (liorter. The plumage in the female is not 

 unlike that of the male, except the head, which is the fame 

 as the other parts of the body, with a mixture of yeUowifh- 

 grey about the fides of the head. It inhabits the Sandivich 

 iflands. 



* COCCOTIIRAU.STES ; Hawfinch. This is le gros-bec of 

 Bridon, and is rather larger than the foregoing fpecies. It 

 is of a chefnut-a(h colour ; wings with a white line, having the 

 middle quill-feathers rhombic at tlie tips ; tail-feathers black 

 at the bafe of the thinner web. The female is lefs bright in 

 colour ; the part between the bill and the eye is grey, inllead 

 of black. This may ferve as a general deltription', but the 

 colours vary very much. This fpecies, thoucrh ranked 

 among the Britilh birds, vifits thefe kingdoms occafionaliv, 

 and for the moll part in winter, and has never been known 

 to breed here. It is more plentiful in France, where it mav 

 be feen in abundance about the beginning of April ; and 

 foon after makes its neft between the fork of the branches- 

 of trees, about ten or twelve feet from the ground. It is 

 compofed of fmall dry fibre?, intermixed with liverwort, 

 and lined with finer materials. The e?;gs are of a roundifh 

 fhape, of a blueidi-green, fpotted with olive-brown, with a 

 few irregular black markings^nterfperfed. It is alfo com- 

 mon in Italy, Germany, Sweden, and the wellern parts of 

 RufFia, where the wild fruits grow : in the reft of the em- 

 pire they are exceedingly fcarce, except beyond lake Baikal, 

 where they arrive from the fouth in great plenty, to feed on 

 the berries of a tree peculiar to that country. From the 

 fticn Jth of the bill, it cracks the ftones of the fruit, of the 

 haws, cherries, &c. with the greatell eafe. 



* Eksixleator ; Pine grolbeak. Gros-bec de Canada, 



BrilTon. Le dur-bec, Buffon. Gnalejl bullfinchi Edwards. 



AVings with a double white line; tail-feathers all black; 



head, neck, brcaft, and rump, in the young bird red, in 



the old bird yellow; female olive, or greenilh-brown. with 



here and there a reddilh or yellowifli tinge, but chiefly at 



the top of the head. It frequents the moft northern parts 



of this kingdom, being only met v.ith in Scotland, and. 



efpecially the Highlands, where it breeds, and inhabits the 



pine-foreih, feeding on the feeds like the crofs-bill. It is 



found in all the pine-forefts of Siberia, Lapland, and t!ic 



northern parts of Ruflia \. common aliout St. Peter.'burgh 



in the autumn, and is caught in great plenty at that time 



for the ufe of the table, returning north m the fpring-. 



Thefe birds are like wife common in the northern parts of 



America, and appear at Hudfon's Bay about the moDth of 



May, to which place they are faid to come from the fouth,. 



and are obferved to feed on the buds of the willow. 



Macuoura ; Long-tailed grofticak. Black ; band on • 

 the wings and back rcd*ii(h-yellow ; tail long, wed<^ed. Ih- 



habita 



