AMERICAN CROSSBILL. 
COMMON CROSSBILL. RED CROSSBILL. 
Loxia curvirostra minor. 
Char. Bill long and compressed, mandibles curved at the points 
which cross or overlap. In young birds the bill is straight. Adult males ; 
dull red, variable m shade ; wings and tail blackish brown. Young males • 
yellowish olive. In changing plumage they display great variety of com- 
binations of yellow, olive, and red. Females : above, dull olive ; rump 
and crown yellow ; wings and tail as male ; below, grayish. Length 
to 6 inches. a 
Nest. Usually in a dense wood, on a branch of an evergreen tree 15 
to 30 feet from the ground; made of twigs, strips of bark, weed-stems, 
and roots, lined thickly with grass, roots, hair, and feathers. 
3 ~ 4 » pale green dotted, near larger end, with brown and laven- 
der; 0.75 X 0.57. 
This more common species, like the preceding, inhabits the 
high northern and arctic regions of both continents, where it 
breeds, and is met with from Greenland to Pennsylvania, or 
farther south, according to the season and the success' in 
obtaining food when driven to make a southern descent or 
migradon. From September to April these birds are found 
inhabiting the extensive pine forests in the mountainous and 
interior districts of Pennsylvania and other States to the north ; 
they also extend their winter migrations into the lower parts of 
the State of Missouri. They have occasionally been seen in 
the maritime parts of Massachusetts, but are less common 
