FEMALE WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL. 337 
throughout, but especially at the point, where the edges almost 
unite into one: both mandibles are curved (the lower one up- 
wards) from the base, the ends crossing each other; the upper 
has its ridge distinct, and usually crosses to the left in both 
sexes, and not, as Wilson appears to intimate, generally in 
one sex only; the lower mandible is considerably shorter; the 
tongue is short, cartilaginous, and entire; the irides are of 
avery dark hazel; the small setaceous feathers covering the 
nostrils, which is one of the characteristics of the genus, are 
whitish grey ; the bottom of the plumage is everywhere slate 
colour ; the head, and all the upper parts, down to the rump, 
are of a greyish green, strongly tinged with olive, each feather 
being marked with black in the centre, giving the plumage a 
streaked appearance, as represented in the plate; the rump is 
pure pale lemon yellow; the upper tail-coverts are blackish, 
margined with whitish olive ; the front, and a broad line over 
and round the eye and bill, are slightly distinguished from the 
general colour of the head by the want of olivaceous, being 
ereyish white, and as the feathers are very small, appear 
minutely dotted with black: the curved blackish spot, more 
apparent in the colours of the male, is slightly indicated on the 
sides of the head ; the sides of the head and neck, the throat, 
and the breast, are of a greyish white, also streaked with 
blackish, and somewhat tinged with yellowish on the sides of 
the breast ; the flanks become of a dingy yellowish grey, and 
have large, dull, blackish blotches ; the belly and vent are of 
a much purer whitish, and the streaks are on that part long, 
narrow, and well defined; the under tail-coverts are blackish, 
with broad white margins; the wings are three inches and a 
half long, reaching, when closed, to the last of the tail-coverts; 
the first three primaries are subequal and longest, the fourth 
being but little shorter, and much longer than the succeeding; 
the general colour of the wing is black, the smaller coverts each 
margined with olive; the middle and longer coverts broadly 
tipt with white, forming a double band across the wings, so 
conspicuous as to afford the most obvious distinguishing cha- 
VOL. II. Yj 
