178 
VERTEBEATA. 
THE PAEKOT CROSS-BILL. 
The American Cross-Bill, L, Americana^ resembles tte preceding, and has generally been 
considered identical with it; there is no doubt, however, that it is distinct. It is seven inches 
long ; the male is red, passing into Avhitish beneath. It feeds on the seeds and buds of trees, 
and is a northern bird, but breeds in a few instances as far south as Pennsylvania. 
Other species are as follows : the Parrot Cross-Bill, L. lyityo'psittacus^ seven inches and a 
half long ; general color tile-red, with dusky streaks below. It is somewhat larger than the com- 
mon cross-bill, but resembles it in its habits. It is occasionally seen in England and France. 
The European White-winged Cross-Bill, L. hifasciata, is six and a quarter inches long; brick- 
red, orange, and grayish-brown above ; reddish-orange beneath ; a rare species. 
The American White-winged Cross-Bill, L. leucoptera, is generally of a crimson-red, with 
wings and tail black, the former having two white bands ; length six inches. It is a northern 
species, rarely moving farther south than Northern New York. This has been long deemed iden- 
tical with the preceding, but it is no doubt a distinct species. 
THE PHYTOTOMIN^ OR PLANT-CUTTERS. 
These birds are distinguished by having the 
margins of their mandibles finely serrated ; the 
bill is short, conical, and stout, as in the bull- 
finches. They are found only in the temperate 
regions of South America; the typical species, 
Phytotoma rara, is a native of Chili. They fre- 
quent the wooded parts of the country, and feed 
upon buds, fruits, and herbage, which they cut 
away with their bills, and thus often do great 
damage when they visit the cultivated grounds. 
The amount of the injury is greatly increased by 
the circumstance that the birds mischievously cut 
off quantities of buds, fruits, &c., for the mere 
pleasure of throwing them down; and for this 
reason the peasants wage a constant war with 
them, which, according to Molina, at the time he 
wrote, was rapidly diminishing their numbers. 
They also occasionally feed on insects. Their cry, 
consisting of raw, rara, vara, is said to be exceed- 
ingly disagreeable, resembling the noise made by 
grating the teeth of two saws together. 
THE CHILIAK PLANT-CUTTER, P. rava. 
