174 
THE CONDOR 
| Vol. VII 
been taken along the lower Colorado River; and the spurred towliee is not recorded 
from any of the desert regions of southern California, so that in the southernmost 
extension of their ranges, at least, me gal onyx and montanus are separated by some 
three hundred miles of desert, in which neither form is found. 
It may be of some interest to briefly glance over the distinguishing features 
of the various series of birds examined. Starting from the east we find first at the 
eastern base of the Rockies arcticus , with olivaceous back, extensively streaked 
with white. Going southward to New Mexico we encounter montanus , consider- 
ably darker, but with gray rump and with white streaks on back still quite exten- 
sive. I may say here that three examples of montanus from Fort Loveland, Colorado, 
have, in the character of their markings, a decided leaning toward arcticus. Cross- 
ing the desert to southern California, we find a still darker bird ( megalonyx ), with 
black rump and white markings on interscapulars reduced to a few spots. As we 
go north along the coast the birds became still darker, grading through falcifer 
to the extremely dark oregonus. With the specimens I examined it was possible 
to form an almost unbroken chain, both as to color and geographically from the 
olivaceous arcticus to black oregonus. 
In this connection it may also be of interest to speak of some aberrant mark- 
ings that were encountered in some of the specimens examined. These took the 
form in several examples of arcticus , of faint rusty markings on the occiput. A 
male specimen of megalonyx has a small chestnut spot on the middle of the throat, 
while another has nearly the whole of the back grayish, the black of the head be- 
ing nearly as sharply defined against the back as in [unco or eg anus. This last may 
possibly be a case of faded feathers due to arrested moult, though the specimen 
was shot in December and was otherwise in good condition. Another male speci- 
men of megalonyx has the chestnut on one side much paler than on the other. 
I would like in conclusion to express my gratitude to Mr. Grinnell for the 
loan of a valuable series of specimens from Pasadena and from Fort Tejon; to Mr. 
F. S. Daggett for the loan of a large number of skins from various localities in Los 
Angeles County and from Palo Alto; and also to Dr. Dearborn of the Field Colum- 
bian Museum for the privilege of examining the specimens under his care. 
Chicago , Illinois. 
The American Crossbill in Montana 
BY P. M. SI BLOW AY 
I N the summer of 1903 my attention was attracted by the unusual activity of the 
crossbill ( Loxia curvirostra minor') in the Ifiathead forests. Late in June the 
adults became noticeable in their notes and movements, and in early July the 
subject was noted in my journal. On July 6, I made a record of thesingingof the 
male as indicative of the fact that the birds were apparently enjoying a summer 
nuptial season; but somehow I had formed the conclusion that the crossbill nests 
only in late winter and early spring, and hence I was unusually blind to the real 
doings of the noisy chatterers in the tops of the tall conifers. 
The regular call-note of the crossbill is a syllable sounding somewhat like the 
word “quit,” generally uttered when the bird begins its flight from one station 
