BIRDS. 



ORDER 



PASSERES, 



CRUCIROSTRA. CROSSBILL. 



Generic Character. 



Rostrum crassum, forficatum; 

 mandibular inverse aduncae. 



Nai'es parvse, rotundatae, ad 

 basin rostri. 



Lingua Integra. 



Beak thick, and forked ; man- 

 dibles, when at rest, in- 

 versely curved. 



Nostrils small, rounded, si- 

 tuated at the base of the 

 beak. 



Tongue intire. 



A HE singular structure of the beak of the birds 

 belonging to this genus was considered as a mere 

 lusus naturae by Buffon, calculated to render 

 them much less essential service than any other 

 known kind of beak : but notwithstanding the ap- 

 parently awkward and useless shape, it has been 

 v. ix. p. ii. 16 



