Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky,
The flying cloud, the frosty light:
The year is dying in the night;
Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.
Ring out the old, ring in the new,
Ring, happy bells, across the snow:
The year is going, let him go;
Ring out the false, ring in the true.
Ring out the grief that saps the mind,
For those that here we see no more;
Ring out the feud of rich and poor,
Ring in redress to all mankind.
Ring out false pride in place and blood,
The civic slander and the spite;
Ring in the love of truth and right,
Ring in the common love of good.
Ring out old shapes of foul disease,
Ring out the narrowing lust of gold;
Ring out the thousand wars of old,
Ring in the thousand years of peace.
Ring in the valiant man and free,
The larger heart, the kindlier hand;
Ring out the darkness of the land,
Ring in the Christ that is to be.
—Alfred Tennyson.
THE WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL.
(_Loxia leucoptera._)
The Crossbills, together with the finches, the sparrows, the grosbeaks,
the redpolls, the goldfinches, the towhees, the cardinals, the
longspurs, and the buntings, belong to that large family of perching
birds called the Fringillidae, from the Latin word Fringilla, meaning a
finch.
Mr. Chapman tells us, in his “Birds of Eastern North America,” that
“this, the largest family of birds, contains some five hundred and fifty
species, which are represented in all parts of the world, except the
Australian region. Its members present a wide diversity of form and
habit, but generally agree in possessing stout, conical bills, which are
admirably adapted to crush seeds. They are thus chief among seed-eaters,
and for this reason are not so migratory as insect-eating species.” Many
of the birds most highly prized for the cage and as songsters are
representatives of this family and many of the species are greatly
admired for their beautiful coloring. The White-Winged Crossbill is a
native of the northern part of North America, migrating southward into
the United States during the winter months. Its technical name, Loxia
leucoptera, is most appropriate and descriptive. The generic name Loxia
is derived from the Greek loxos, meaning crosswise or slanting, and the
specific name leucoptera is from two Greek works, meaning white and
wing, and has reference to the white tips of the feathers of the wings.
The common name, Crossbill, or, as the bird is sometimes called,
Crossbeak, describes the peculiar structure of the bill which marks them
as perhaps the most peculiar of our song birds. The bill is quite deeply
cut at the base and compressed near the tips of the two parts, which are
quite abruptly bent, one upward and the other downward, so that the
points cross at an angle of about forty-five degrees. This
characteristic gives this bird a parrot-like appearance. The similarity
is heightened by the fact that these hook-like bills are used by the
birds to assist in climbing from branch to branch.
The Crossbills are even parrot-like in captivity. Dr. Ridgway, in the
“Ornithology of Illinois,” writes as follows regarding the habits of a
pair: “They were very tame, and were exceedingly interesting little
pets. Their movements in the cage were like those of caged parrots in
every respect, except that they were far more easy and rapid. They clung
to the sides and upper wires of the cage with their feet, hung down from
them, and seemed to enjoy the practice of walking with their head
downward. They were in full song, and both the male and female were
quite good singers. Their songs were irregular and varied, but sweet and
musical. They ate almost every kind of food, but were especially eager
for slices of raw apple. Although while they lived they were continually
bickering over their food, yet when the female was accidentally choked
by a bit of egg shell her mate was inconsolable, ceased to sing, refused
his food, and died of grief in a very few days.”
Their peculiar bills are especially fitted for obtaining their food,
which consists to a great extent of the seeds of cone-bearing trees,
such as the pine, the hemlock and the spruce. The ornithologist Wilson
says: “On first glancing at the bill of this extraordinary bird one is
apt to pronounce it deformed and monstrous; but, on attentively
observing the use to which it is applied by the owner and the dexterity
with which he detaches the seeds of the pine-tree from the cone and from
the husks that inclose them, we are obliged to confess on this, as on
many other occasions where we have judged too hastily of the operations
of nature, that no other conformation could have been so excellently
adapted to the purpose; and that its deviation from the common form,
instead of being a defect or monstrosity as the celebrated French
naturalist insinuates, is a striking proof of the wisdom of the great
Creator.”
[Illustration: ]
As an accidental malformation this structure of the bill has been noted
among other birds, and, it is said, with some frequency among the crows.
A mediaeval legend gives as the cause for this conformation of the bill
and the red color of the plumage that it was acquired “in recognition of
the pity it bestowed on the suffering Savior at the Crucifixion.”
Probably due to the nature of their food, which can usually be procured
in any season, these birds are apparently not under the control of the
usual laws that govern migration, but wander about in a seemingly
aimless manner and are not influenced to any great extent by the
changing seasons. They do not seem to be a constant inhabitant of any
given locality for any length of time, but appear and disappear as if
constantly dissatisfied with their surroundings.
The two sexes vary in color, the body of the male being a dull
carmine-red, which is brighter on the rump, and that of the female is
brownish, tinged with olive-green and with brownish yellow on the rump.
The young males are similar in color to the females, but pass through a
changeable plumage while maturing.
The Crossbill usually builds its nest in a cone-bearing tree and does
not always choose the most inconspicuous locality. The nest is generally
constructed of rather coarse twigs and strips of birch or cedar bark and
lichens. This is lined with hair, the softer fibers of bark, fine
rootlets, grass and feathers. The whole nest is saucer-shaped and about
four inches in diameter, outside measurement, by one and one-half in
depth. Authorities tell us that the eggs are usually three in number. In
color they are a pale blue, nearly spotless at the smaller end, but at
the larger end marked with irregular streaks or dots of lavender or
reddish-brown. The eggs are small, about eight-tenths of an inch long by
nearly six-tenths in diameter.
On account of their vagrant habits, Dr. Brehm was wont to call them the
“Gypsies” among birds. While seeking food or flying from place to place,
they continually utter a plaintive note and their song is soft and
sweet.