42 WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL. 



the bill is a brown horn colour, sharp, and single-edged 

 towards the extremity, where the mandibles cross each other ; 

 the general colour of the plumage is a red-lead colour, 

 brightest on the rump, generally intermixed on the other 

 parts with touches of olive ; wings and tail, brown black, the 

 latter forked, and edged with yellow ; legs and feet, brown ; 

 claws, large, much curved, and very sharp ; vent, white, 

 streaked with dark ash ; base of the bill, covered with recum- 

 bent down, of a pale brown colour ; eye, hazel. 



The female is rather less than the male ; the bill of a paler 

 horn colour ; rump, tail-coverts, and edges of the tail, golden 

 yellow ; wings and tail, dull brownish black ; the rest of the 

 plumage, olive yellow mixed with ash ; legs and feet, as in 

 the male. The young males, during the first season, as is 

 usual with most other birds, very much resemble the female. 

 In moulting, the males exchange their red for brownish 

 yellow, which gradually brightens into red. Hence, at dif- 

 ferent reasons, they differ greatly in colour. 



WH ITE-WINGED CKOSSBILL. (Curvirostra 

 leucoptera.) 



PLATE XXXI. -Fig. 3. 



Turton, Syst. i. p. 515. 



LOXIA LEUCOPTERA— Gmelin.* 



Loxia leucoptera, Bonap. Synop. p. 117. 



This is a much rarer species than the preceding ; though 

 found frequenting the same places, and at the same seasons ; 



* Bonaparte has fulfilled Wilson's promise, and figured the female of 

 this species, with some valuable remarks regarding its first discovery 

 and habits, which will be found in Vol. III. From these it appears to 

 be very like its congeners, performing its migrations at uncertain periods 

 and in various abundance, enjoying the pine forests, though not farther 

 known by any destructive propensities among orchards. It may be 

 looked upon yet as exclusively North American. The only record of 



