Loxia americana.
Hab. Northern America generally, coming southward in winter. Resident in the Alleghany and Rocky Mountains.
There are considerable differences both in color and size, especially of bill, in specimens from various parts of North America, and to a less degree from the same locality. While those of the Atlantic and Pacific coast have bills of much the same size, in skins from the mountains of California this member is much stouter; in this character approaching the L. mexicana of Strickland, in which the bill presents its maximum of the North American form.
18034 ♂ California.
It would not probably be far out of the way to consider the European and all the American common Crossbills as the same species, differing only as races, and perhaps including L. himalayana, which is smaller even than americana.
We have not observed any American Crossbills with two reddish bands across the wing-coverts, corresponding to the variety rubrifasciata of Europe.
L. pytiopsittacus of Europe is much the largest of all the species, measuring seven inches in length, and with the bill seven lines high at base.
PLATE XXIII.