86 
FEMALE WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL. 
whitish olive; the front, and a broad line over and round the 
eye and bill, are slightly distinguished from the general colour of 
the head by the want of olivaceous, being grayish white, and as 
the feathers are very small, appear minutely dotted with black: 
the curved blackish spot, more apparent in the colours of the 
male, is slightly indicated on the sides of the head; the sides of 
the head and neck, the throat, and the breast, are of a grayish 
white, also streaked with blackish, and somewhat tinged with 
yellowish on the sides of the breast; the flanks become of a 
dingy yellowish gray, and have large dull blackish blotches; 
the belly and vent are of a much purer whitish, and the streaks 
are on that part long, narrow, and well defined; the under tail- 
coverts are blackish, with broad white margins, the wings are 
three inches and a half long, reaching when closed to the last of 
the tail-coverts; the first three primaries are subequal and longest, 
the fourth being but little shorter, and much 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 
emarginate, 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 
