Vol./9 XIXo2 ] HIim,•Vhile-w'[ng'ed Crossbt'll in Caj311vz'/.v. 1 3

THE WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL IN CAPTIVITY.

BY JAMES HAYNES HILL,

THE ornithologistsof Connecticutwill long rememberthe winter of i899-i9oo, that broughtto them the rare avian visitors from the North, the Red Crossbills and, rarer still, the White-winged Crossbills(Zoxia /euc•½lera). While many of the Red Crossbillsextended their wanderingsas far southas Washington,the White-wingswere content to abide in the old Nutmeg State, and were frequently reported, feeding and otherwise,in companywith the Red Crossbills,staying as late as February 27, according to Mr. H. W. Beers's field notes taken at Bridgeport(and to whomI am greatlyindebted for the use of the fine series of Crossbillsloaned me for comparison and examination),and later still, to March •, at whichdate the captives, the subjectof my sketch,were taken. It was a few days after their capture that a lady friend, Mrs. Albert Beebe, of New London, Conn., sent word that she had a pair of strange,red colored,wild birds, with criss-crossbills and white patcheson the wings. They were indeed the rata aT,is,the White-wingedCrossbill and in perfectplumage-- male and female birds. Upon inquiry I learnedthat severalhad been easilyenticed into a bird cage,baited with bird seed,this pair selected,and the others liberated. She also said at least fifteen or twenty birds (some without the white-wing patches,evidently the Red Crossbills), were often seen, during the winter, feeding on the spruce and Scotchlarch conesin the groves,growing in the vicinity,that they had become quite tame, but were not seen after March x. The captiveswere quite tame, in fact tamer than some of her pet canaries,and they were daily allowedtheir liberty and would fly aboutthe room,the male at timessinging his queerlittle song. They are nowvery fond of their ntistress,who has taken great pains to make their captivity as light as possible. They bathe,drink, and are fed on the samefood as the canaries, and take kindly to the little daintiesprovided--chickweed and bits of fruit or vegetables,and I writewith truth that "Mi-lord" 14 HILL, Wh[te.winffedCrossb•71 in Cafitiv[ty. [.Jan.[-Auk

Crossbill is always ungallant and "wants the first serving and the secondjoint." They can pick up bird seed as deftly as any canary, though if the seed is on the bottom of the cage, they turn their headsa little on one side, seeminglyto give their bills a better chance,but if the seedcup is full they have no trouble and always get their full share, being quicker than the other birds in their movements. But it is when a handful of larch or pine cones are given them that the crossedmandibles come into play; if the conesare small they fly to their percheswith them, and holdingthem under their feet deftly extractthe seeds. Shouldthe conesbe too large, they will roll them over and over until every seedis extracted,cheeping the while; if the conesare left on the branch they will hang head downward,if need be, in order that they may the more easilyge.t at the seeds,of which they are very fond. I wasparticularly interested in notingclosely the moultingof the birds--especially the male--to again verify, if possible, the observationsof Mr. Ora W. Knight of Bangor, Maine, who has so minutelydescribed the moultof the Pine Grosbeakin captivity,in ' The Auk' (Vol. XIII, p. 21-24), viz.: "the red plumagechang- ing to orangeyellow--at the first moult." Observations on the Crossbills show that in the last week of Augustthe male ceasessinging, and by the middle of September he has lost mostof his large flight feathers,which are replacedby the first week of November; then the smaller body feathers are graduallyreplaced by orangehued feathers,slightly marked with duskyon the headand body,the rumpbeing bright canaryinstead of the rich, rosy red hues that adorn them in their wild state; thu• showingthat not only the Pine Grosbeak but the White- winged Crossbill also loses the characteristicbright colors in the first moult in captivity, rose turning to orange yellow. The bills and feet are also light colored, viz.: the olive green in the female is lesspronounced. By December the •noult is complete, but the male bird doesnot find voice till Januaryto sing his low, sweetsong, so muchresembling the Goldfinch's,and with which our pet Crossbillushers in the day and repeats at intervals. These birds at this writing (Nov. •, i9o• ) are in perfect health, and the only annoyanceis that the bill and feet grow so hooked Vol.19o2.XIX'] .J D^NIEL, Summer Bt'rds o.[' lhe Great Dt'smal Swam•. 15 that theyhave to be trimmedto avoidaccidental hanging while climbingthe wiresof their cage• like diminutiveparrots. The mysteriesof nestbuilding, housekeeping and the cares of nidification,are mysteriesstill. In the spring of •9oo the birds showedno signsof mating, and it wasascribed to theirnew sur- roundings. But duringthe lastweek of February,•9o•, the female wished to go to housekeepingand materials were given them, fine twigs,fine birch bark and a little Usneamoss. But the male bird treated his matewith disdain,quarreling with her and driving her from perchto perch. Whetherhe resentedthe matchmaking because it was ' Hobson's choice,' or remembered the soft, sweet voice of the former parmer of his joys andsorrows, the only"Mrs. Leucoptera" whom he had sworn to love and cherishtill death part, and was loyal, I know not. Perhaps it was in grief, a memoryof the blissfuldays in that far off northernhome, among "The murmuring pines and the hemlocks,bearded with moss." Perhapshis tale of love was ended, "in Acadie, home of the happy."

SUMMER BIRDS OF THE GREAT DISMAL SWAMP.

BY JOHN W. DANIEL, JR. DURINGthe middle of June, x897, the writer, in companywith Mr. William Pahner and Mr. Paul Bartsch, spent a week collect- ing birds in the Lake Drmnmond region of the Great Dismal Swamp. As is well known,this great morassoccupies a billowy plain, someforty mileslong by twenty-fivemiles across, extending from Suffolk, Va., to Albemarle Sound, N. C. Its entire western boundaryis determinedby a sharplydefined escarpment, formed by the sea whenthe continentwas about twenty-eight feet below its presentlevel. Its easternboundary is marked by a series of low elevations, dune-like in nature, extending from Norfolk, Va., to Elizabeth City, N.C. The characterof the swampland is continuously •andulating,the elevationsrising and falling at slight intervals.