FEMALE WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL* 153 
longer than the succeeding ; the general colour of the 
wing is black, the smaller coverts each margined with 
olive ; the middle and longer coverts broadly tipped 
with white, forming a double band across the wings, so 
conspicuous as to afford the most obvious distinguishing 
character of the species ; all the quills are slightly edged 
with paler, the tertials being also tipped with white ; 
the under wing-coverts are of a dark silvery, as well as 
the whole inferior surface of the wing ; the tail measures 
two and a half inches, being as usual composed of twelve 
feathers ; it is black, and deeply emarginated, the feathers 
acute, and slightly edged with paler : the feet are short, 
rather robust, and blackish ; the tarsus five-eighths of 
an inch in length, somewhat sharp behind, with its 
covering entire before ; the toes are divided to the base, 
very short, the middle one considerably the longest, but 
much less than half an inch long, the lateral one 
subequal, (all these being remarkable characters of the 
genus ;) the hind toe long, and stoutest ; the nails strong, 
much curved, and sharp, the hind one the longest, and 
twice as large as the lateral. 
The male described by Latham, Wilson, and Vieillot, 
as in full plumage, but which, with Temminck, we 
have good reasons for believing to be between one and 
two years old, differs from the female in being a trifle 
larger, and of a crimson red where she is olive gray : 
the base of the plumage is also considerably darker, 
approaching to black on the head, which colour predo- 
minates in several parts of the plumage, round the eye, 
on the front, in a broad line curving and widening from 
the eye each side of the neck, and appearing distinctly 
on the back, where it generally forms a kind of band 
descending from the base of the wing : the rump is of 
a beautiful rose-red ; the black of the wings and tail is 
deeper ; the white, pure, and more extended ; the lining 
of the quills, and especially of the tail-feathers, more 
conspicuous ; the belly is of a pure whitish, much less 
streaked, &c. 
The bird which, from analogy, we take for the adult 
male, though we have no positive evidence for deciding 
