BIRDS OF PENNSYLVANIA. 185 



The nest of this bird is said to be built usually in a coniferous tree 

 and composed of twigs, strips and fibres of bark, hair, small roots, 

 grasses, etc. ; u eggs 3-4, 0.75 by 0.57, pale-greenish, spotted and dotted 

 about larger end with dark, purplish-brown, with lavender shell- 

 markings." Coues. The Whitewinged Crossbill, from all the informa- 

 tion I can obtain, does not build in this State, and as a winter visitant 

 it is quite rare. Crossbills are nearly always to be found in flocks. 

 " Their food consists principally of seeds contained in the cones of 

 different species of the pine and fir. In the pine forests of Pennsyl- 

 vania I saw them feeding on those of the white pine, the hemlock and 

 the spruce, as well as on various kinds of fruits. Wherever an apple 

 tree bore fruit, the Crossbills were sure to be on it, cutting the apples 

 to pieces in order to get at the seeds, in the manner of our Parakeet 

 of the south. Nothing can exceed the dexterity with which they 

 extricate the seeds from the cones with their bill, the point of the 

 upper mandible, which they employ as a hook, placing it at the base 

 of the seed and drawing it up with a sudden jerk of the head. They 

 frequently stand on one foot only and employ the other in conveying 

 the food to their bill, in the manner of Parrots. They are fond of all 

 saline matter/' Audubon. 



GENUS ACANTHIS. BECHSTEIN. 

 528. Acanthis linaria (LINN.). 



Redpoll. 



DESCRIPTION. 



The small and very acute bill is yellow, a dusky streak extends backward from 

 point of each mandible ; legs, feet, claws and iris dark ; tail deeply forked. Adult 

 male. Above brownish-yellow, each feather streaked with dark-brown and mar- 

 gined with grayish ; tail and wings dusky edged with whitish ; two white-wing 

 bars ; a narrow fronted space, throat patch and bores dull black (feathers of frontal 

 region sometimes whitish). Top of head red ; breast and sides more or less colored 

 with red ; rump and upper tail coverts streaked with white and dusky, and in some 

 specimens tinged with pinkish ; lower parts generally white but sides and under 

 tail coverts have dusky streaks. Female. Very similar to male, but breast is 

 usually of a yellowish tint and not red ; top of head red but not as bright as in male. 

 The red on top of head of young male is often of a coppery hue. Length about 5| 

 inches ; extent about 9 inches. 



Hab. Northern portions of Northern Hemisphere, south irregularly in winter, in 

 North America, to the Middle United States (Washington, D. C., Kansas, south- 

 eastern Oregon). 



The Redpoll, a native of high northern latitudes, occurs in Penn- 

 sylvania only as an irregular and occasional winter visitant. Red- 

 polls were exceedingly abundant in Eastern Pennsylvania in the 

 winter of 1878-79, at which time they were observed about fields and 

 houses in flocks of from 20 to 200 or more. Since the date above 

 mentioned I have not seen this species in this locality. The note of 



