There is another species of crossbill, called the White-winged (Loxia
leucoptera), that differs from the preceding chiefly in having two white bands
across its wings and in being more rare.
THE REDPOLL (Acanthis linaria) Finch family
Called also: REDPOLL LINNET; LITTLE SNOWBIRD; LESSER REDPOLL;
[COMMON REDPOLL, AOU 1998]
Length -- 5.25 to 5.5 inches. About an inch shorter than the
English sparrow.
Male -- A rich crimson wash on head, neck, breast, and lower
back, that is sometimes only a pink when we see the bird in
midwinter. Grayish-brown, sparrowy feathers show underneath the
red wash. Dusky wings and tail, the feathers more or less edged
with whitish. Soiled white underneath; the sides with dusky
streaks. Bill sharply pointed.
Female -- More dingy than male, sides more heavily streaked, and
having crimson only on the crown.
Range -- An arctic bird that descends irregularly into the
Northern United States.
Migrations -- An irregular winter visitor.
"Ere long, amid the cold and powdery snow, as it were a fruit of the season,
will come twittering a flock of delicate crimson-tinged birds, lesser
redpolls, to sport and feed on the buds just ripe for them on the sunny side
of a wood, shaking down the powdery snow there in their cheerful feeding, as
if it were high midsummer to them.
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