136 The American Naturalist. [February, 
THE RANGE OF CROSSBILLS IN THE OHIO VALLEY 
WITH NOTES ON THEIR UNUSUAL OCCUR- 
RENCE IN SUMMER. 
By A. W. BUTLER. 
Loxia curvirostra COMMON CROSSBILL. 
In 1838, Dr. Kirtland had not met with the American 
Crossbill (Loxia curvirostra minor) in Ohio or Indiana. Dr. 
Haymond omitted it from his “ Birds of southeastern Indiana” 
in 1856. Dr. Wheaton reported it from Ohio in the winter of 
1859-60. Evidently it was quite well known to Dr. Haymond 
in 1869. The winter of 1868-9, they were very abundant in 
the vicinity of Cincinnati (Dury). This was doubtless the 
case at other places also. The range of the species at this 
time was supposed to be northern North America, south in the 
Appalachian Mountains into Pennsylvania, extending in win- 
ter, irregularly over much of the United States. A letter from 
Mr. C. E. Aiken of Salt Lake City, Utah, informs me that this 
species became very abundant in the city of Chicago in July 
and August 1869, and remained until late in the fall. They 
fed greedily upon seeds of sunflowers and were so sluggish 
that one could approach within a few feet of them, so that 
they fell an easy prey to boys with catapaults. In the latter 
part of August of the same year, he found them common 10 
Lake County, Indiana. He also notes that they were not rare 
the succeeding year in the vicinity of Chicago. : 
Dr. F. W. Langdon notes the capture of a single specimen 
from a flock of six or eight at Madisonville, near Cincinnati, 
Ohio, Nov. 30, 1874. 
In the winter of 1874-5, Mr. Eugene P. Bicknell noted these 
birds were present in the lower Hudson Valley, and in Apri 
of the latter year found their nest. In the same article 2 
noticed the occurrence of the species about New York City 10 
late spring and early summer, on Long Island in midsumm 
and on the Bermudas from March to May (Bull. Nutt. Orn. 
Club, Vol. V, pp. 7-11). Mr. E. W: Nelson in his pape p 
“Birds of northeastern Illinois,” read before the Essex Insti- 
