. American ornithology, or, The natural history of the birds of the United States [microform]. Birds; Oiseaux. 276 FEMALE WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL. tingi'il with olivo, aiul having the rump greenish yellow, instead of yellow. The tour aboi e-described states of plumage arc selected from a number of specimens shot on the same day and out of the Han\e flock. The changes of these birds must still rank among the unexplained pheno- mena of Natural History. An illustration might be attempted by sup- positig a double moult to take place in the birds of this genus, but l)esides that we ought to be cauti
. American ornithology, or, The natural history of the birds of the United States [microform]. Birds; Oiseaux. 276 FEMALE WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL. tingi'il with olivo, aiul having the rump greenish yellow, instead of yellow. The tour aboi e-described states of plumage arc selected from a number of specimens shot on the same day and out of the Han\e flock. The changes of these birds must still rank among the unexplained pheno- mena of Natural History. An illustration might be attempted by sup- positig a double moult to take place in the birds of this genus, but l)esides that we ought to be cautious in admitting an hypothesis like this not founded on observation, it would be entirely untenable in the present instance, from the fact that all the variations of plumage are found at the same period of the year, thus proving that age, and of ' sex, but not season, produce these changes and we must pro- visionally admit, that contrary to what takes place in all other birds, these (the Cro»«sl)ilis) together with the Pine-Bullfinches, lose, instead of aeijuiiing }>rillianey of colors as they advance in age. This species inhabits during summer the remotest regions of North America, ard it is therefore extraortlinary that it should not have been found in the analogous elioMktes of tlie old continent. In this, its range is widely <'Xtende<i, as we can trace it from Labrador, westward to Fort dc ill f'ourche in latitude r*t)°, the borders of Peace river, and Mon- tague Island on the north-west coast, where it was found by Dixon. Uoun<l Hu<lson's Hay it is (Common and well known, probably extending far to the north-west, as Mackenzie appears to allude to it when speak- ing of the only land bird found in the desolate regions he was exphtring, which enlivened with its agreeable notes the deep and silent forests of ' frozen tracts. It lei common on the borders uf Lake Ontario, and descends in autumn and winter into Canada and the Northern and iliddle St
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1870, booksubjectbirds, booksubjectois
