THE AMERICAN WIIITE-WINGEI) CROSSBILL. 
115 
depart, pay but little lieed to tlie report of the gun, and con- 
tinue their occupation, seldom becoming really alarmed until 
several more of tlieir number have fallen. This may appear a 
fanciful theory, but it is certain that when the bird killed l)y the 
first shot is a young one, the flock, large or small, will, upon 
almost every occasion, make off to a considerable distance. 
THE AMERICAN WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL. 
Loxia leucoptera. 
Out of place in the present work though the name of this 
very rare bird may at first sight appear, I cannot but feel 
convinced that there are sufficient grounds for its insertion, 
although it is but lately I have arrived at this conclusion. On 
the 4th of September 1859, the very year in which the appear- 
ance of a large flock near Banff was recorded in The Zoolo- 
gist,”* I observed several Crossbills in the garden at Halligarth, 
and succeeded in shooting two, but only after much difficulty, 
not only on account of the thickness of the foliage, but also 
from the unwillingness of the birds to come into view. Having 
no books with me, I registered them in my notes either as two- 
barred Crossbills, or a very small variety of the common 
species. A lad who was working in the garden told me that 
he had seen a very beautiful brightly-coloured bird, but I was 
unable to obtain even a glimpse of it, although the notes were 
often heard among the thick shrubs. The two that were shot 
proved to be a female and a young bird, very like specimens 
of the Common Crossbill, but with both greater and lesser 
wing-coverts tipped with white, forming two distinct bars 
upon each wing. The young bird was dingier in colour than 
the young of the Common Crossbill, but resembled it in the 
numerous dusky streaks upon the body; the female was of a 
brighter greenish colour, with a good deal of yellow about the 
Zool. 1859, p. G631. 
