^ NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. LAND BIRDS VOL. II i ■ i I e^BUmratBimmilitmmm HISTORY OF NOETH AMERICAN BIRDS BY S. F. BAIRD, T. M. BREWER, and R. RIDGWAY LAND BIRDS ILLUSTRATED BY 04 PLATEH AND 593 iroODCVTS VOLUME II. BOSTON LITTLE, BROAVN, AND COMPANY 1874 REFERENCE PRO\ ^ ujTX/-\ HY VICTORIA. B.C. ■f ? . -n- REFERENCE Enterctl acconliii? to Act of Congress, in the year 1874, BY LITTI.K, BROWN, AND COMPANY, in the Oilice of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. m CONTEXTS. I^aimly FRixoiLLiUiE. Tlie Finches. {Cuntiaucd.) 1 Suhfiiniily Si'iZELMN.K. {Contimud.) ........ 1 Subfamily P.vssEUKLMN.t: ^^ Subfamilv Si-izin.k ... -u Family Alaudii).*:. Tin- Larks . . . iq- Family IrrEKiD.B. The Orioles .... n- Subfamily A(;elaix.e I .o Subfamily Ictkiun.*; j-g Subfamily QuisiALiN.K .^q.. Family SiruxiD.f:. Tht- Starlings . . . . . ^ 228 Family ("(»KVii>,E. The Crows ..gj Subfamily CoRviN.t; .... .,oi * • . • • • • 16 i Subfamily GAunuLiNj: .... .^^o Family Tyuaxn I i).t;. The Tymnt Fly catchers . . . . . . ^^g Family Auedimi..€. The Kingti.shei-s 391 Family Capkimili.id.e. The Goatsuckers 39g Subfamily 1'apri.mulgix.e gqo Family Cyi'selid.*:. The Swifts 49] Subfamily Cypselix^ ... i.^o Subfamily (.'hjiturix^ i,,^ Family Trochilid*. The Humming-Hinls 437 Family CucuLiDiE. The Cuckoos . . i-n Subfamily CuccYGixjE ......... ^"^ Family PiciD^. The Woodiieckers 49j Subfamily Picix.e ^92 Family PsiTTACiD^f:. The Parrots . . ksik Subfamily SiTTAcix^ 535 Ixdex to the Plates. Plates 27 - 56. iG^93 -^^ NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. Family PRINGILLID^. — Tut: Finches. {Cuntiautd.) Genus SPIZELLA, Honap. Spizdiii, !'.<»SAi'. (Jrog. ami Coinj). List, 1838. (Tv[«', Frimillla nnuulensis, I. aim.) Spinitcs, Cabams, Mils. H.-iii. 18.'»1, VVi. (Vy^i-, Fiiiujillusmialis, Wii..s.) Gkx. Chau. Dill conical, the nutliiu-s sliL'-litly cnivod; the lower nian«lihle cleciv.!i li and witli streaks. /. Sfi'iiik behind etje^auil tliiije int siih- nf hreitst^ nitons, /y/ij j,olr hfxe^ or hhu's/i-ii'/iife, l»/uff/ieil nufli jiak' hron'n, or sjirink'led wHIi leihUnli. 1. S. mouticola. Crown liriirlit nituus, undiviik'd medially: a du.-ky sj»ut t>n liMe; wiii^^-ltaiids stliai'itly delined. puie white. A blaek s|)(it on hivast ; jiii/nluni tiii'/ed with ashy. Hill hlaek uhove, yellow Ih'Iow. Lentrth. (».*J."i ; winL', o.'M'. llrownish-red. Wing, 2.70; tail. 2.80; bill, from forehead, .37. Ilah. East- ern Provinre Tnited Slates var. pnsilln. ''Similar, l)ut colors clearer, and bill more robust." Hah. Peten, i )i c t o rv m .^ II. Strenlc behind the eye blackish. X<> rvfoiis tinge on side of bredst. Eiftj deep hlxe^ \rith bhirJc dots and streaks ronud hirf/er end. 3. S. socialis. Crown briirht rufous, not distinctlv divided, con- erally plain. Forehead blaek. divided medially with white. Streak of black on lore and behind eye. I\um[) pure l»luish-ash. Ijill blackish, lower mandible paler. Auriculars deep ash, in strong contrast with pure white of the superciliary stripe and throat; breast without ashy tinge. Dorsal streaks broad. Wing, 2.80; tail. 2.oO. Ilob. Eastern Province of United States ..... var. social is. Auriculars lighter ash, less strongly contrasted with the white above and below; breast strongly tinged with ash. Dorsal streaks narrow. Wing, 3.00; tail, 2.K0. Ilab. Western Province of United States, and table-lands of Mexico. var. a rizonce. b. Crown light grayish-brown, with distinct black streaks; young differing in streaked. Egg deep blue, with black streaks and dots (precisely as in socialis). 4. S. pallida. Crown divided medially by a distinct pale stripe ; whitish superciliary stripe, and blackish p. S. atrigularis. Ilciirl and neck all round, ami ninip, tinifnrm dark ash, ^Madually liidiii,:,' into white on the alxloiiu-n ; win^'- Itands inr Mexieo and southi'ni Miiidle I'ntvinee nf i'nited States (l'\»it Whipple, Arizona, CoL'Ks; Cape St. Lueas, Xantus). Spizella monticola, Haikd. TBEE 8FABR0V^ Fn'iuj'Ioi mimficitlrr^ T.m. Syst. Xat. I, 1788, 912. Znnntrirhin miwticnhi, Gii.vy, ('.tntTa. SpihitcH numtio'hix, (.'auams, Mii>. Hciii. 18,'>1, 134. Sjtizrlfn innutoo/i>, JJAiitK, lUnls N. Am. 18,-,s, 47-2. — Coves, V. A. N. S. 18»!1, 224 (I^ihrad-.r). —(<... i-kii & .Sr« ki.ky, •_o:5 iWiiNliiiiu'tuii T»T.). — Dali, & liANNisTKii. Tr. ( "h. A.-. I, ]»;\), 28'!. — Coui-ki:, (>iu. (id. 1, iio»i. — Samtki-s, :n7. P'lssrr CI, I'uf, lists, Hi;i.ns,»n, Oni. HI, 17»;o, 102. Fn'ii'fif/ii ,■„„,, Jnisis, Lath. Indtx, \, 17!»o, 4;}4. — Ald. Orii. I'.i.)-.,'. II, I5.34, ')11 ; V, .'104, pi. cl.x.xxviii. — Max. Cab. .luur. VI, 1>.')S, 2S0. EmbirhK auuidtii.sis, 8w. y. W. Am. II, 1831, 202. — Aro. Syn. 1839. — In. Birds Am. Ill, 1841, 83, pi. olxvi. Sjrizi'lhi cnnathnsis^ I»o\. List, 1838. — In. C'onspfctus, ISiiO, 480. Friinjilln. arhorec, Wii.s. Am. Oiii. II, l>lo, 12, pi. xii, f. 3. Mninatu du Canada, liuFFu.v, PI. Eul. 223, f. 2. ''Mountain Finch," Lami. Syn. II, 1, 205. Sp. Chau. Middle of baek with the feathers dark hrown centrally, tluMi rufous, and edtred with pale fulvcMis (sometimes with whit- ish). Hood ami upper jiart of nape conMmious ehestnut ; a line of the same from behind the eye, a.s well as a short maxillary stripe. .Side.s of head and neek ashy. A l»road lii^ht .super- ciliary band. Beneath whitish, tin^'-cd with ful- vous; the thrt»at. with a.shy : a small circular blotch of brownish in the middle of the upper part of the l>reast; the .ssides ehestnut. Edp's of tail-feathers, primary (piills, and two bands acr«)ss the tips of the secondaries, white. Tertiaries n(\arly Idaek : ed-jed externally with rufous, turn- inj; to white near the tips. Lower jaw yellow; upper black. Yomiir bird streaked on throat and lireast, as well as on crown, Leniith, G.25 inches ; winir, .J.OO. Had. Eastern North America to the ^[issouri. north to Arctic Ocean ; al.^so on Pole Creek and Little Colorado River, New ;Mexico ; Western Nevada. Tliis species varies in the aiiiount ot whitish edging to the tiuills and tail. Habits. Essentially a nortliern bird, the Tree Sparrow breeds in high Arctic regions, only appearing in winter within tlie United States, It is then common as far south as Pennsylvania. A few winter in South Carolina. It arrives on the Saskatchewan in the latter ])art of April, where it only Spiz'-lfn >/l'i,l!irti>ff. 4 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. makes a short halt, proceedin;^ farther north to breed. BischoU' obtained a si)e('inien at Sitka. Mr. Kennicott found its nest and eg,y;s on the Yukon, and Mr. Dall obtained it at Xulato, and more sparingly below that point. ^Ir. MaeFarlane met with it breeding in large numl>er.s at Fort Anderson. I ' The nest.s were in various situations, the larger proportion on the ground, a ; \ few in bushes near the ground, and onlv one is mentioned as having been I several feet above it. One was in the cleft of a low willow on the edge of M a small lake ; another, in a bush, was nearly four feet from the ground ; and a third was in a clump of willows and fourteen inches above the giound. . Xearly all the other nests mentioned were built directly upon the ground. The nests were constructed of dry bark and grasses, loosely put together, and very warndy lined with feathers, ^n the ground they were usually concealed in a tuft of grass. In all ins., es the female alone M'as found on the nests, the male being very rarely seen in their vicinity. The usual number of eggs in a nest was four or five, occasionally six, and even seven. Dr. Suckley obtained a single specimen at Fort Dalles, and Dr. Cooper saw a flock in September, 1863, and again in 1864 at the mouth of the Columbia. Lieutenant Bryan met with them among the Rocky Mountains in latitude 39°, in August. ^Ir. liidgway found them very common during the winter in the interior. Dr. Coues found this Sparrow common in all tlie wooded districts of Lab- rador. It was very tame and unsuspicious, showing no fear even when closely approached. I have never met with any, in summer, in any part of Xew Brunswick or Nova Scotia. This Sparrow is occasionally abundant in ^lassachusetts early in October, but rarely appears in full nund^ers until November. Some remain in the gardens in and about Boston during the winter, and during November the marshes of Fresh Pond are filled with them, when their wailing autumnal chant is in marked contrast with tlie sweet and sprightly song with which they enliven the spring, just before they are abont to depart for their sum- mer homes. They remain until the latter part of April, and Mr. Allen has observed them at Springfield till about the first of ^lay. In regard to their song, Mr. "William Brewster informs me that they usu- ally connnence singing about the 2r)th of ^larch. Their song is a loud, clear, and powerful chant, starting with two higli notes, then falling rapidly, and ending with a low, sweet warble. He has heard a few singing with their full vigor in November and December, but this is rare. Dr. Coues found them not common in South Carolina, but Dr. Kennerly states that they were quite alnindant in Decend:>er on the Little Colorado, in New Mexico, feeding on the fruit of the wild grape and ujwn seeds. During the love-season the Tree Sparrow is quite a fine musician, its song resembling that of the Canary, but finer, sweeter, and not so loud. In their migrations, Mr. Audubon states, a flock of twenty or more will perch upon the same tree, and join in a delightful chorus. Their flight is elevated ':1 FPJXaiLLID.E — TTIK FIXCIIES. 5 and fTHiceful, and in wavini^ undulations. On npenint,' the stomachs ol' those he sliot at the Mai^nleleine Islands, ^Fr. Audubon found them contain- ing' minute shell-fish, coleo])terous insects, hard seeds, berries, and grains of sand. Xests obtained near Fort Anderson confirm the descriptions j^iven by Mr. Hutchins, as ob.served in the settlement at Hudson's Bay. The egj^s, which are much lar<^er than those of the other species of >y>o7/", measure .85 l)y .G.J of an inch. Their ground-color is a li«j;ht ^^reen, over which the egus are very generally freckled with minute markings of a foxy brown. These markings are distributeil with great regularity, but so sparsely as to leave the ground distinctly visible. Spizella pusilla, Boxap. FIELD SFASBOW. Fringilla pusilla, Wilson, Am. Oin. II, 1810, 121, pi. xvi, f. 2. — LiniT. Vorzeioh. Doubl. 1823, No. 252. — Aui). Orn. Biog. 11, 1834, 299, pi. cxxxix. Spizella pusilla. Bona?. List, 1838. —In. Conspectus, 1850, 480. — Baiiid, Birds X. Am. 1858, 473. — Samuels, 319. EmberizLi imsiUn, Aid. Syu. 1839, 104. — In. Birds Am. Ill, 1841, 77, pi. clxiv. Spiiiites piisi/lus. Cab. Mus. Hein. 1851, 133. Fn'inj'lla juncorian, NuTT. Man. 1, 1832, 499 (2d cd.,) 1840, 577 (supposed l)y him to be Motacilhi junco- rinn, Gmelin, I, 952; Si/lvkijinicoriim, Latham, Ind. II, 511 ; Little Broicn Sparrow, Catesby, Car. 1, 35). Sp. Char. Bill red. Crown rontinuons rufous-red. with a taint indication of an ashy central stripe, and ashy nuchal collar. Back somewhat similar, with shaft-streaks of blackish. Sides of head and neck (including a superciliary s ripe) ashy. Ear-coverts rufous. Beneath white, tinged with yellowish anteriorly. Tail-feathers and quills faintly edged with white. Two whitish bands across the wing-coverts. Autumnal specimens more rufous. Length about 5.7.5 ; wing, 2.34. Hab. Eastern Xorth xVmerica to the Missouri River ; San Antonio, Texas in winter (Dresser, Ibis, 18a5, 480). This species is about the size of >S^. social is, but is more rufous above ; lacks the black forehead and eye stripe ; has chestnut ears, instead of ash ; has the bill red, instead of black; lacks the clear ash of the run^p ; has a longer tail, etc. It is more like ^tiontico/a, hut is much smaller; lacks the spot on the breast, and the predominance of white on the wings, etc. The young have the breast and sides streaked, and the crown slightly so. Habits. The common Field Sparrow occupies a well-detined and some- what compact area, being resident within the United States, and in its mi- grations not removing far from its summer abode. In the summer it breeds from Virginia to Maine, as far as the central and western portions. It is not found near Calais, but occurs and breeds near Norway, Oxford County. In the interior it is found still farther north, in Canada, Iowa, and Wiscon- sin, to the Red liiver settlements, where it was found breeding by Donald Guun. At Hamilton, Ontario, Mr. McUwraith states it to be a rather rare 0 NOliTH AMKIilCAN BIRDfi. siiiuiiRT resident. It breeds in Soutliern Wisconsin and in Iowa, but is not abundant. It does not appear to liavo been found west of tlie Missouri \'alley. This Sparrow arrives in Massachusetts early in April, and is found almost exclusively in oj)en pastures, old fields, and in clearings remote from villages. It is a shy, retiring l>ird, and seems to avoid the near presence of man. Wil- son states that it has no song, nothing but a kind of chirruping, not much superior to the chiri)ing of a cricket. But this is quite a mistake, as it is in reality a very varied and fine singer. Its notes are not very powerful, and cannot ))e heard any distance, but they are very pleasing, altliough little known or ap])reciated. It continues in full song until int » July, when the second brood is a])out hatcliing, when its notes relax, but do not cease until just before its departure in Sei)tendjer or early Octol)er. Mr. I). 1). Iluglies, of Grand IJapids, Mich., in an interesting paper on the habits of this species, speaks of its beautiful tinkling song as one of its most marked features. To his ear it resembles the ringing of a tiny bell more nearly than anything else. In the early morning and at evening the fields ring with their plaintive and tender peals. It sings at all hours of the day, during the nesting-season, even in the noonday heat of sunnner, when most other birds are silent. In Virginia these birds may be found throughout the year, though probably not the same birds in the same localities, some retiring farther south and otliers coming to take their places from the north. In winter they are found in the greatest abundance in South Carolina and Georgia, occurring in large loose flocks, found chiefly along the roadsides and in old fields and pastures in the rural districts. The Field Sparrow nests both on tlie ground and in low bushes, or among tangled clusters of vines. 1 have found their nests in all these situations, and have no doubt the nature of the surface mav have somethinu to do with the position. In high dry pastures, in sheltered situations, I have always found their nests on the ground. In the wet meadows and fields subject to a rise of water, as about the Potomac, near Washington, where these liirds are very abundant, they almost invariably nest in bushes at a height of two or three feet. Mr. Audubon says that during the winter these birds are quite common throughout Louisiana, and the country about the Mississip[)i, as far as Ken- tucky. They begin to depart from the South early in March, and move slowly northward as the season advances. He states that they begin to nest in May, and raise three broods in a season. This is not tlie case in New Eng- land, where they do not often have more than a single brood. Their nests are constructed in a manner very similar to those of the Chip- ping Sparrow, loosely made of a few stems of vegetables, grasses, and sedges, and lined with hair or flue rootlets. Those placed on the ground are larger and more bulky, and those wrought into the tv>qgs of a bush are made with % \i FRIX(;iLLII).K — T'lK FIXniKS. 'j more cnre ani)earance, as of an enclosure of palisades. The interior is lined witli lioi-sehair. The other is made of similar materials, of a less rigid diameter Tind closer tex- ture. Its rim presents the same peculiarities of projecting ends, arranged like a fence above the nest itself. Its dimensions also are about the same. It is, however, nmcli more compactly constructed, witli thicker walls and a less open network of dry grasses, and stiF wiry stems of dried jdants intermixed with a few pine leaves. The whole is veiy carefully and warndy lined witli horsehair and the softer fur of small quadrupeds. These nests con- tained, one three, and the other four eggs. Spizella socialis, 1>onap. CHIPPIHO SPARROW; CHIPPY. Frinriilln socialis, Wilson, Am. Orn. II, 1810, 127, pi. xvi, f. 5. — Auu. Om. Tiiop;. II, 1834, 21 ; V, 517, pi. civ. Spizclln socialis. Box. List, 1838. — Ib. Conspectus, 18.')0, 480. — Baiiu), Birds N. Am. 1858, 473. — Cuopeu & Suckiky, 203. — Samuels, 320. Emberiza socialis. All). %n. 1839. — Ib. Birds Am. Ill, 1841, SO, pi. clxv. Spinitcs socialis, Cabanis, Mus. Htin. 1851, 133. Sp. Char. Rump, back of neck, and .<;ides of neck and head, ashy. Interscapular region with l)lack streaks, margined with pale rulbus. Crown continuous and uniform chestnut. Forehead Mack, separated in the midtlle by white. A wliite streak over the eye to nape, and a black one from the base of the bill through and behind the eye. Lores dusky. Under parts unspotted whitish, tinged with ashy on the sides and across the upper breast. Tail-feathers and primaries edged with paler, not white. Two narrow white bands .icross the wing-coverts. Bill black. Length, 5.75; wing, nearly 3.00; tail, 2.50 (or less). Young, bnmature birds and trequ(»ntly the adult females with the rap streaked with blackish lines, the chestnut nearly or sometimes quite wanting. Birds of the year streaked beneath and on rump. The color of bill varies; sometimes entirely black throughout, sometimes very light (but never reddish as in IS. papilla), with all intermediate stages. There is usually, however, a g NORTH AMERICAN .BIRDS. dusky tinge i» the u}>i»'r I 'ill. waiititiir in /ntsilhi^ and tlie lores are almost always more (»r less dusky in all staijes of pUunai/e. IIaij. Eastern Province of North America; north to Ureat Slave Lake, and south to Orizaba, Eastern Mexico, wJK're it is resident. Oaxaca (perhaps var. arizona'), Jan. (Scl. 8.">8, 304); Xalapa (Scl. 1859, 305) : Cordova (Scl. 1850, 305); Cuba (.Lawk. 18G0, VIL, 12G9). Habits. The coiinnon Chippiiij; Sparrow, so famiPar to all in tlie eastern portion of the United States, is not f>nly one of tho most al)unilant, but one ot tlie most witlelv distributed of our North Aniericiii birds. It is found from the Atlantic to the Pafitic in iis two races, and breeds from Georgia to the Arctic Circle. At different seasons of the year it is found in all por- tions of North America to Mexico. Along tlie Atlantic coast it nests at least as far north as New Brunswick and Nova Scotia ; in the extreme northern portion of the latter Province I found it one of the mo.st abundant birds. The late Mr. Ifobert Kennicott met with them in considerable numbers at Fort liesolution, on Great Slave Lake, and there he obtained quite a number of their nests, all of which were in trees or bushes, from two to three feet above the ground. These were all met with between the 1st and the 26th of June. Mr. B. K. Koss also met witli these birds in considerable numbers at Fort Simpson and at Fort IJae. On the Pacific coast the C'lii[)ping Sparrow^ is stated by Dr. Cooper to be quite as abundant in the northern parts of California, and in Oregon and Washington Territory, as on the Atlantic coast. He found them wintering in the Colorailo Valley in large numbers, but met Nvitli none about San Diego. They spend their sunniiers in the northern part of California, building their nests, as with us, in the shrubbery of the gardens, and coming familiarly about the doorsteps to pick up crumbs. In autunni they collect in large flocks, and frequent the open fields and pastures. Dr. Cooper found them in flocks on Catalina Island in June, but could discover no nests. They w^ere all old birds, and the conclusion was that they had delayed their more north- ern migrations. Dr. Suckley found this species extremely abundant in the open districts on the Columbia Biver, as well as upon the gravelly prairies of the Puget Sound district. It is not named as having been met with by Mr. Dall or any of the Bussian Telegraph party in Alaska. It was found in abundance during the summer by .Mr. Bidgway in all the wooded portions of the country of the Great Basin. He did not meet with any among the cottonwoods of the river-valleys, its favorite haunts appear- ing to be the cedars and the nut-pines of the mountains In July and August, in such localities, on the East Humboldt Mountains, it was not only the most numerous species, but also very abundant, nesting in the trees. About the middle of August they congregated in large nimibers, preparing for their departure. FlilNGILLID^E - THE FINCHES. 9 At Sacramento it was also very al)UiRlaiit among the groves of small oaks. He could not observe the slightest ilitlerence in habits or notes between the eastern and the western specimens of this form. He found them breeding at Salt Lake City, June 10, the nest being in a scrub-oak, six feet from the ground. In Arizona, Dr. Coues found the Chii)i)y a very abundant summer resident, arriving the third week o" JVIarch and remaining until the latter part of Xovember. A few may spend the winter there. As described, it seems more gregarious than it is with us, arriving in the spring, and remaining for a mouth or more in large flocks of fifty or U2)wards. In New England they always come in pairs, and only assemble in flocks j\.3t on the eve of their departure. Mr. Dresser met with these Sparrows, and obtained specimens of them, near San Antonio, on the 10th of April. Dr. Heermann, in his Report upon the birds observed in Lieutenant Williamson's route between the 3 2d and 35th parallels, speaks of finding this species abundant. Dr. Gerhardt found this Sparrow not uncommon in the northern portions of Georgia, where it is resident throughout the year, and where a few remain in the summer to breed. Dr. Coues also states that a limited number sum- mer in the vicinity of Columbia, S. C, but that their number is insignificant compared with those wintering there between October and April. They collect in large flocks on their arrival, and remain in companies of hundreds or more. Mr. Sumichrast states that it is a resident bird in the temperate region of Vera Cruz, Mexico, where it remains throughout the year, and breeds as freely and commonly as it does within the United States. Although found throughout the country in greater or less numbers, they are noticeably not common in the more recent settlements of the West, as on the unsettled pmiries of Illinois and Iowa. Mr. Allen found them quite rare in both States, excepting only about the older settlements. As early as the first week in April, 1868, I noticed these birds very common and familiar in the streets of St. Louis, especially so in the business part of that city, along the wharves and near the grain-stores, seeking their food on the ground with a confidence and fearlessness quite unusual to it in such situ- ations. The tameness and sociability of this bird surpass that of any of the birds I have ever met with in New England, and are only equalled by similar traits manifested by the Snowbird [J. hi/emalis) in Pictou. Those that live about our dwellings in rural situations, and have been treated kindly, visit our doorsteps, and even enter the houses, with the greatest familiarity and trust. They will learn to distinguish their friends, alight at their feet, call for their accustomed food, and pick it up when thrown to them, without the slightest signs of fear. One pair which, summer after summer, had built their nest in a fir-tree near my door, became so accustomed to be fed that they would clamor for their food if they were any morning forgotten. One VOL. II. ^ - ■' -- 10 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. of i\\vsc Mrcls, the reiiuile, tVuiu c(»iiiiiig down to the ground to be fed with crunilis, soon li'aiiii-d to take them on the thil branch of the fir near her nest, and at hist to feed from niv hand, ami alterwards from that of otlier niemhers of tlie family. Her mate, all the while, was comparatively shy and distrust- ful, and could not be induced to receive his food from us or to eat in our presence. This Sparrow is also quite social, i^eeping on good terms and delighting to associate with other 8]>ecies. Since the introdiution of the European House Sparrow into Boston, I have repeatedly noticed it associating with them in tlie most friendly relations, feeding with them, Hying up with them when disturbed, and imitating all their movements. The Chi]>i)ing Sparrow has very slight claims to be regarded as one of our song-birds. Its note of complaint or uneasiness is a simple chijt, and its song, at its best, is but a monotonous repetition of a single note, sounding like the rapid striking together of two small pebbles. In the l)right days of June this inipretending ditty is kept uj) incessantly, hours at a time, with onlv rare intermissions. The nest of this bird is always in trees or bushes. I have in no instance known of its being built on the ground. Even at the Arctic regions, wdiere so many of our tree-builders vary from this custom to nest on the ground, no exceptional cases are reported in regard to it, all its nests being upon trees or in l)ushes. These are somewhat rudely built, often so loosely that they may readily be seen through. Externally they are made of coarse stems of grasses and vegetable branches, and lined with the hair of the larger animals. These birds are de^'oted parents, and express great solicitude whenever their nests are ap})roached or meddled with. They feed their young almost exclusively with the larvie of insects, especially with young caterpillars. When in neighborhoods infested with the destructive canker-worm, the v will feed their young with this pest in incredible numbers, and seek them from a consideralde distance. Living in a district exempt from this scourge, yet but shortly removed from them, in the summer of 1869, I noticed one of these Sparrows with its mouth filled with something which inconvenienced it to carry. It alighted on the gravel walk to adjust its load, and passed on to its nest, leaving two canker-worms behind it, which, if not thus detected, would have introduced this nuisance into an orchard that had previously escaped, showing that though friends to those afflicted they are dangerous to their neighbors. This Sparrow is also the frequent nurse of the Cow Blackbird, rearing its young to the destruction of its own, and tending them with exemplary fidelity. Their eggs, five in number, are of an oblong-oval shape, and vary greatly in size. They are of a bluish-green color, and are sparingly spotted about the lai-ger end with markings of umber, purple, and dark l)lackish-brown, intermingled with lighter shadings of faint purple. The largest specimen 3?B FRINGILLID.E — THE FINCHES. H I have ever noticed of this egg, found in the (.'ui)itol Grounds, AVashinglon, measuids .80 by .58 of an inch ; and the smallest, from Varrell's Station, (.la., nunisures .OU by .50. Thei. average measurement is about .70 l)y .54. They are all much })ointed at the smaller end. Spizella socialis, var. arizonse, Coles. WESTERN CHIPPING SPABBOW. Spizella socialis, var. nrizmia:, CniKs, 1'. A. X. S. 1866. — r<>orEn, Orn. Cal. I, 20". Sp. Char. Similar to socialis, but tail and winpr longer, the bill narrower, and colors paler and grayer. Rufous of the crown lighter and less puiplish, generally (always in speeiniens from .southern Rocky Mountains) with fine black stniaks on the posterior part. Ash of the cheeks paler, throwing the white of the s'lperciliarv stripe and throat into less contrast. Black streaks of the back narrower, and without the rufous along their edge.s, merely streaking a plain light brownish-gray ground-color. A strong ashy shade over the breast, not seen in soc<'tf//.s' ; wing-bands more purely white. Wing, 3.00; tail. 2.80; bill, .36 from forehead, by .18 deep. (40,81.) ^, April 24, Fort Whipple, Aiiz., Dr. Corns.) IIab. Western United States from Rocky Mountains to the Pacific; south in winter into Middle and Western Mexico. All the specimens of a large series from Fort Whipple, Arizona, as well as most others from west of the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific coast, agree in the characters given above, as distingtiislunl from eastern specimens of socialis. The variations with age and season are sim]>le jxtrallels of those in socinlis. Habits. Tlie references in the preceding article to the Chipping S])arrow as occurring in the Middle and Western Pro\inces of the United States, are to be understood as applying to the present race. Spizella pallida, Bonap. CLAT-COLOBED SPABBOW. Emhcriza pallida, Sw. F. Bor.-Am. II, 1831, 251 (not of ArnrBON). Spizella jvtlUda, BoxAP. List, 1838. — B.\ii:i>, Birds N. Am. 1858, 474. Spinitcs 2)alfidus, Caiunis, Mns. Hein. 1851, 133. Embcriza shattucki, Aui>. Birds Am. VII, 1843, 347, pi. ccccxciii. ^)>jc<;//« s/m/^ucA^', Bona p. Conspectus, 1 850, 480. Sp. Char. Smaller than S. socialis. Back and sides of hind neck ashy. Prevailing color above pale brownish-yellow, with a tinge of grayish. The fcnthers of back and crown streaked conspicuously with blackish. Crown with a median pale ashy and a lateral or superciliary ashy-white stripe. Beneath whitish, tinged with brown on the breast and sides, and an indistinct narrow brown streak on the edgre of the chin, cutting off a light stripe above it. Ear-coverts brownish-yellow, margined above and below by dark brown, making three dark stripes on the face. Bdl reddish, dusky towards tip. Legs yellow. Length, 4.75 ; wing, 2.55. J2 NORTH AMERICAN RTRDS. Had. T'ppor Missouri River and hipfli central plains to tho Saskatchewan country. Capo St. Lucas, Oaxaca, Maich (Six. 18o9, 'Mi)); Fort Mohave (Coopkij, P. A. N. 8. Cal. 18G1, \'2'2)'j San Antonio, Tex.is, sprinjj^ (DRF:stJKH, Ibis, LSli'>, 480; c«»nimon). The asliy collar is quite conspicuous, and streaked above with brown. Tlie rump is iniinaculate. The stieaks on tlie feathers of the crown almost form continuous lines, al)out '.v in n inber. Tlie brown line al>ove the ear- coverts is a post-ocular one. That on the side of tlie chin forms the lower border of a white maxillary stripe which widens and curves around behind tlie ear-coverts, fadiiij? into the ashv of the neck. The winrr. hnndld (runn Ca]>tain J'.lakiston noted the arrival of tliis bird at Fort Carlton on the 21st of May. He speaks of its note as very peculiar, resem])lin«<, though sharper than, the Imzzinj,' made by a Hy in a }>a}'er box, or a faint imitation of tlie sound of a watcliman's rattle. This son": it utters perched on some vouni; tree or bush, sometimes only once, at others Mnee or four times in quick succession. Their nests appear to have been in all instances placed in trees or in shrubs, generally in small spruces, two or three feet from the ground. Tn one instance it was in a clump of small Imshes not more than six inches from the ground, and only a few rods from the buildings of Fort Kesolution. Both this species and the >S'. hrweri were found by Lieutenant Couch at Tamauli2)as in March, 1855. It does not appear to have been met with by any other of the exph^ring expeditions, but in 18(34, for the first time, as Dr. Heermann states, to his knowledge, these birds were found quite plentiful near San Antonio, Texas, by Mr. Dresser. This was in April, in the fields near that town. They were associating with the Mchspiza linrolni and other Sparrows. They remained about San Antonio until the middle of May, after which none were observed. The eggs of this species are of a light blue, with a slight tinge of greenish, and are marked around the larger end with spots and blotches of a purplish- brown, rather finer, perhaps, than in the eg^ of S. socialis, though very similar to it. They average .70 of an inch in length, and vary in breadth from .50 to .52 of an inch. Spiaella pallida, var. breweri, Cassin. BBEWEB'S 8PABB0W. Emherizn pallida, Aud. Oni. Biog. V, 1839, QQ, pi. cccxcviii, f. 2. — Ib. Synopsis, 1839. — Ib. Birds Am. HI, 1841, 71, pi. clxi (not of Swainson, 1831). Spizdbi hrcweri, Cassin, Pr. A. N. Sc. VIH, Feb. 1856, 40. -Baird, Birds N. Am. 1858, 475.— Cooper, Oru. Cal. I, 209. Sp. Char. Similar to S. pallida ; the marking's including the nuchal collar more obsolete: no di.«?tinct median and superciliary light stripes. The crown streaked with black. Some of the feathers on the sides with brown ishaft^. Length, o inches ; wing, 2.50. Young streaked beneath, as in pallida. Hab. Rocky Mountains of United States to the Pacific coast This race is very similar to the >S^. pallida, and requires close and critical comparison to separate it. Tlie streaks on the back are narrower, and the central ashy and lateml whitish stripes of the crown are scarcely, if at all, appreciable. The clear unstreaked ash of the back of the neck, too, is mostly wanting. The feathers along the sides of the body, near the tibia, It I J4 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. and occasiniiriUy clsowliore on the sides, have hrownish shafts, not found in tlie other. The dillirences are |»erhai)s those of iiiee, rather tlian of speeies, tliouuli they are very apprecialde. If Ai'.ns. This s}>ecies hears a very close resemhlance to tlie X pallida m its external appearance, but tliere are certain constant differences wliich, \vitli the peculiarities of tlieir distinctive distributions and ha])its, seem to estal)- lish their specific separation. The present bird is found from the Pacific coast to the Kocky Mountains, and from the northern portion of ( 'alifornia to the Iiio Grande and Mexico. Dr. Kennerly found it in Fefnuary, l(Sr)4, throughout New ^fexico, from the Ilio Grande to tlie CJreat Colorado, along the different streams, where it was feeding upon the seeds of several kinds of weeds. Dr. Heermann, wldle accompanying the surveying ]»arty of Lieutenant Williamson, between the '^'lA and ootli parallels, found these Sparrows throughout liis entire route, both in California and in Texas. On the pas- sage from the Pimos villages to Tucson he observed large flocks gleaning their food among tlie bushes as they were moving southward. In the Tejon valley, during the fall season, he was constantly meeting them associated with large HcK'ks of otlier species of Sparrows, congregated around the cul- tivated fields of the Indians, wliere they find a bountiful supply of seeds. Por this })iirp()se they pass the greater part of the time upon the ground. Dr. Woodliouse also met with this Sparrow tliroughout New Mexico, wherever food and water were to be found iu sufficient (Quantity to sustain life. In Arizona, near Fort Whipple, Dr. Coues states that this bird is a rare summer resident. He characterizes it as a shy, retiring species, keeping mostly in thick brush near the ground. Mr. liidgway states that he found this interesting little Sparrow, while abundant in all fertile portions, almost exclusively an inhabitant of open I situations, such as fields or busliy plains, among the artemesia esi)ecially, wliere it is most numerous. It frequents alike the valleys and the moun- ^ tains. At Sacramento it was the most abundant Sparrow, frecpienting the old fields. In this respect it very much resembles the eastern Spizdla pnsillff, from which, however, it is in many respects very different. The song of Ihewer's Sparrow, he adds, for sprightliness and vivacity is not excelled by any other of the North American Fringillidie, being inferior only to that of the Chondestes (frammain in power and richness, and even excelling it in variety and compass. Its song, while possessing all the plain- tiveness of tone so characteristic of the eastern Field Sparrow, unites to this quality a vivacity and variety fully equalling that of the finest Canary. This species is not resident, but arrives about the yth of April. He found its nest and eggs in the Truckee Ileservation, early in June. The nests were in sage-bushes about three feet from the gi'ound. Dr. Cooper found smaU flocks of this sjiecies at Fort Mohave, after March KmN(;ii.LrD.K - the i rxfiiix M 20, frp. Bill led, feet dusky. Innnature Itirds, and perhaps adult li-niale, without any ]il;i(,'k on head. Lenirth, o.5U ; wing, 2.')0 ; tail, 3.00. IIac. Mexico, just .south of the Rio Grande; Fort Whipple, Ariz. (Coues) ; Cape St. Lucas. This Species is about the size of >S^. piidlla and >S^. soriali.o7/^( soci i' ^, as well as with "inches." Lieutenant Couch met with individuals of this species at Aj^ua Nueva, in Coahuila, Mexico, in May, hsr)3. They were found in small tlocks among the mountains. Their nest and eggs are unknown. M' losfiiza ituloitia . Genus MET*0SPI7A I^aird. Mclosjnzrf, B.MKD, Birds N. Am. 1868, 478. (Type, Frinfjilla mclodiu, WiLs.) Oen. Cfiar. Dody stout. Bill conical, very obsoletely notched, or smooth ; somewhat compressed. Lower ma'idiMe not so deep as the upper. Coiinnissnre nearly straijijht. Gonys a little curved. Feet stout, not stretching be3'ond the tail; tarsus a little lonj^cr than the middle toe; outer toe a little longer than the inner; its claw not quite reaching to the base of the middle one. Ilind toe appreciably longer than the middle one. Win^/s quite short and round- ed, scarcely reaching beyond the base of the tail : the tertials considerably longer than the secondaries ; the quills considera- bly graduated; the fourth longest; the first not longer than the tertials, and almost the shortest of the primaries. Tail moderately long, rather longer from coccyx than the wings, and considerably graduated ; the leathers oval at the tips, and not stifTened. Crown and back similar in color, and streaked; beneath thickly streaked, except in J/. ]Kih>s(ris. Tail immaculate. Usually nest on ground ; nests strongly woven of grasses and fibrous stems ; Q^^'^^^ marked with rusty- brown and purple on a ground of a clay color. This genus differs from Zomtrirhia in the shorter, more graduated tail, rather longer hind toe, much more rounded wing, which is shorter ; the tertiaries longer ; the first quill almost the shortest, and n.K TIIK FINCIIIIS. IT over tin' wlmlo of \ortli AiiH'rica, iiiid lamiliar to I'very onf, wi* tiixl racli region to |K)sses.s ii sjK'cial form fto Nvliicli a s|HTili< naiiH- has \tvv\\ ^iveii), ami v<'t tlu'Sf passing; into each nthcr l>v siich iiiNt-nsihU' ^raihitioiis as to ivMiUiY it (piitu iinjM»ssihh' to tlctiiie thciii an s|H'aiation, and unit*' into one no less than ei^dit s|)eeie8 jneviously ii'eo^niztd. Taking, then, tin* eoinni<>n Sunu SjtaiTow of the Eastern Atlantic States (J/, inil(nlio) us the startinu-jioint, and jtroeerdin^ ''estward, we find ([uite a decided dilh;renee (in a variety l'nlht,i) when we reach the Middle l*ro\ ince, or that of the l{oi;ky Mountains. The general tints are paler, ^^raxer. and less rusty ; the superciliary stripe antcriorlx more ashy ; the hill, and espe- cially the le^s, more dusky, the latter not at all to he called yellow. The hill is perhaps smaller and, thouj^h sometimes etpial to the average of eastern specimens, more slender in projxtrtion. In some specimens (typical /^'/A" the streaks are uniform rufous w it hcjut darker centres, — ji feature I have not noticed in ea>tern tnc/odut. Another staije {hn/'tna/tni) is seen w hen we reach the Pacific coast of California, in a darker hrown eolt>r (hut not riilous). Here the hill is rather larger than in var. /c^//'", and the lei;s colored more like tyjiical nuloiUn. In fact, the hird is like inrloditt, hut darker. The stripes on the hack ccuitinue well defined and distinct. M. mmudis (zrrztjoiilili) may stand as a smaller race of this variety. Proceeding northward along the Pacific coast, another form (var. (juttdta), peculiar to the coast of California, is met with towards and heyond the mouth of the Columhia (coming into Southern California in winter). This is darker in color, more rufous; the stripes (piite indistinct ahove, in fact, more or less oltsolete, and none, either above or below, with rlarker or black- ish centres. The sides, crissum, and tibia are washed with ochraceous- l»rown, th latter ])erhaps darkest. The bill is ]»roportion.'dly l(»nger and more slender. This race becomes still darker northward, until at Sitka (var. mjino) it shows no rufous tints, but a dusky olive-brown instead, in- cluding the streaks of the under parts. The markings of the head and back aie appreciable, though not distinct. The size has become consider- ably larger than in eastern mt'/odiu, the average length of wing being o.OO, instead of 2.GU. The last extreme of differsnce from typical meJodin of tiie east is seen in the variety irisiynis from Kodiak. Here the size is very large : length, 7.00 ; extent, 10.75 ; wing, 3.20. The bill is very long (.73 from forehead), the color still darker brown and more uniform above ; the median light stripe of vertex scarcely ap])reciable in some si)ecimens ; the superciliary scarcely showing, except as a whitish spot anteriorly. The bill and feet have become almost black. VOL. II. S 18 NOIITII AMERICAN BIRDS. i •■,-1 " I, I ii t The following synopsis may servo us a moans by wiiicli to distinguish the several races of this sjieeies, as also tlie two remaining positive species of the genus : — Species and Varieties. A* L(iwor parts strt'aked. 1. M. melodia. White of tin* lower parts uninterrupted from the ehin to the erissnni ; the streaks of the juL'tihim, ete., broad and cuneate. a. Streaks, above and helow. sharply defnied. and distinctly black medially (exce[)t sonietinics in winter i)hnnaiL'e). Ground-<'olor above reddish-gray, the interscapulars with the whitish and black streaks about erpud, and sharply contrasted. Rump with reddish streaks. Winjr. 'J.70; tail, 2.00 ; bill .^JG from nostril, and .30 deep. Il'ib. Eastern Province of Fnitcd States, to the Plains on the wa»st, and the Rio Grande on the south \ar. melodin. Ground-color above ashy-crray, the ititerscapulars with the black streaks much broader than their rufous border, and the whitish edijes not in stron.fj contrast. Rump without streaks. Winjr, 2.80; tail, 3.15; bill, .33 and .22. Hub. Middle Provin.ce of United States var. f all ax.- Ground-color above nearly pure jrray, the interscapulars with the black streaks much broader than the rufous, and tlie edges of the feathers not appreciably paler. Rump without streaks. Wing, 2.80; tail. 2.85; bill, ..32 by .27. Ilab. California, except along the coast; Sierra Xevada ..... var. heermanni? Ground-color above gray'sh-olive, the interscajiulars with the black streaks much broader than their rufois border; edges of the feathers scarcely appreciably paler. Rump and tail-coverts, above an streakeirds Am. Ill, 1841, 147, pi. clxxxix. — Max. ("ab. J. VI, 1858, 275. Zonotrichia viflodia. Box. List, 1838. — In. ConsiM-ctus, 185n, 478. i ( FruujiUa fasciata, Gmi.lix, Syst. Nat. I, 1788, 922. — NtTTALL, Man. I, (2d cd.,) 1840, 562. n Fruujilla hiinnnlis, Gmklin, Sy.st. Nat. I, 1788, 922. Mr/onpiza melodia, Bauu), Birds N. Am. 1858, 477. — Samikls, 321. Sp. Char. General tint of upper parts rufous and distinctly streaked with rufous-brown, dark-brown, and ashy-gray. The crown is rufous, w;Mi asupeniliary and median stripe of dull gray, the former lighter ; nearly white anteriorly, where it sometimes has a faint shade of yellow, principally in autumn ; each feather of the crown with a narrow streak of black forming about six narrow lines. Interscapulars black in the centre, then rufous, then pale grayish on the margin, these three colors on each feather very sharply con- trasted. Rump grayer than upper tail-coverts, both with obsolete dark streaks. There is middle toe without claw, .68. This may po.ssibly be the M. pectoral i'i of von Midler. The de- scription cited above, however, does not agree with the specimen under consideration. The pec- toral spots are expix's.sly stated to be brown, not even a black shaft-streak being mentioned, whei-eas the pure black spots of the specimen before us render it peculiar in this resi)ect, being, in fact, its cliief characteristic. 20 NoliTII AMKlilCAN BIKDS. a whitisli niaxillarv stri{)e, l)Oi(lei\'d al»ov«' autl below by one of dark rufoiis-browti, and with aiiotluT iVom behind the eye. The under parts are white : the juLrnlinn and sides of liody streaked witii elear (hirk-biown. s«»nietiint\s with a rufous suffusion. On th«' middle of the breast tliese marks are rather aifirrej^ated so as to torin a spot. Xo (hstinet wlnto on tail or winirs. Lenirth of male, H.')(>; w inir, 2.r)8 ; tail. .'{.OO. iJill pale brown above: yellowish at base beneath. Legs yeilowish. H.vn. Eastern United States to the hijrh Central IMains. S}n»ciinen.s vary soiiu'wliat in havinij: tlie stivaks* across tlio broast more or less s])arso, the spot more or less distiiiet. In aiituinii the colors are iiioic Mended, the li^lit maxillary strii)e tinned with yeUowish, the edges of the dnskv streaks stron«dv sntlused with hrownish-rnfous. The young bird has the upper parts paler, the streaks more distinct ; the lines on the head scarcely appreciable. The under parts are yellowish; the streaks narrower and more sharply defined dark i)rown. As already stated, this species varies more or less from the above descrip- tion in tlilferent parts of North America, its typical races having received specific names, which it is necessary to retain for them as varieties. Habits. The common Song Sparrow of eastern Xorth ^Vmerica has an extended ran«i:e of distribution, and is resident throughout the vear in a larj^e part of the area in which it breeds. It nests from about South Carolina north to the Ihitish Provinces of Xova Scotia and Xew J>runswick at the east, and to a not WTll-defined limit in British America. The most northern points to which it has been traced are the plains of the Saskatchewan and 'the southern shore of Lake Winnepeg, in which latter place Mr. Kennicott found it breeding. It is said by Dr. Coues to breed in South Carolina, and bv Mr. Audu])on in Louisiana, but I have never seen anv of their egi^s from any point south of Washington. In winter it is found from Massachusetts, where onlv a few are observed, to Florida. It is most abundant at this period in North and South Carolina. It is not mentioned in Dr. Ger- hardt's list as being found in Northern Georgia at any season of the year. Mr. IJidgwav informs me that it does not breed in Southern Illinois. Its song is not popularly known there, though he has occasionally heard it just before these Sj)arrows were leaving for the north. This sjiecies winters there in company with the Z. alhirolJh and Z. /cin'ophr/fs, associating with the for- mer, and inhabiting brush-heaps in the clearings. To Massachusetts, where s])t'cimens have been taken in every month of the vear, and where they have been heard to sing in Januarv, thev return in large numbers usually early in ^larch, sometimes even in February. It is probable that these are but migrants, j^assing farther north, and that our summer visitants do not appear among us until the middle of April, or just as they are about to breed. They reach Maine from the ir)tli to the 2r)th, and breed there the middle of May. In ^lassachusetts they do not have eggs until the first week in May, exce]>t in very remarkable seasons, usually not until after the lUuebird has already hatched out her first broody and a week later than the liolnn. FKIXr.ILMD.K — THE FIXCIIKS. 9] The tide of retuniinu eiiiip'Mtinii lu'^jiiis to set soutlnvard early in October. ColleetinLj in small loose tlocks, jn-ulialily all <»f each <4ivu]» nn'nil»ei's of the same family, thev slowlv move to\v}ir(ls the south. As one set i)assi's on, another succeeds, until the latter i)art of Novcndter, when we no lonj^'cr nn'ct with flocks, Imt solitary individuals or ^Toups of two or three. These are usually a laru^er and stouter nice, and almost suj^gest a different sjK'cies. They are often in song even into l)ecend)er. They {ipjiarently do not iro far, an«l are the first to return. In early March they are in full son<:,% and their notes seem louder, clearer, and more viljratory than those that come to us and remain to breed. The Son«» Sparrow, as its name implies, is one of our most noted and con- spicuous singers. It is at (mce our earliest and our latest, as also our most constant musician. Its song is somewhat brief, but is rei)eated at short intervals, almost thrcjughout the days of spring and early summer. It some- what resembles the o]>ening notes of tlie Canary, and though less resonant and powerful, much surpasses them in sweetness and expression. Plain and homely as this bird is in its outward garb, its sweet song and its gentle con- tiding manners render it a welcome visitor to every garden, and around every rural home wherein such attractions can be appreciated. AVhenever these l>irds are kindly treated they readily niake friends, and are attracted to our doorsteps for the welcome crumbs that are thrown to them ; and they will return, vear after year, to the same localitv, whenever thus encouraged. The song of this Sparrow varies in different individuals, and often changes, in the same bird, in different parts of the year. It is even stated by an observing naturalist — Mr. Charles S. Paine, of liandoli)h, Vt. — that he has known the same bird to sing, in succession, nine entirely different sets of notes, usually uttering them one after the other, in the same order. This was noticed not merely once or duriuLi- one season, but through three successive summers. Tlie same bird returned each season to his grounds, and came each time provided with the same variety of airs. ^h'. Xuttail, who dwells with much fcn-ce u]ion the beauty and earnestness of ex})ression of the song of this species, has also noticed and remarked upon the power of individuals to vary their song, from time to time, with ver}^ agreeable effect, but no one has recorded so remarkable an instance as that thus carefully noted by ]\Ir. Paine. These birds are found in almost any cultivated locality where the crrounds are sufficiently open. They })refer the edges of open fields, and those of meadows and low grounds, but are rarely found in woods or in thick bushes, exce])t near their outer edges. They nest naturally on the ground, and in such situations a large majority Iniild their nests. These are usually the younger l)irds. A portion, almost always birds of several summers, probably tjaight by sad experiences of the insecurity of the ground, build in bushes. A pair which had a nest in an adjoining field had been robl>ed, by a cat, of their young when just about to fly. After much lamentation, and an interval of a 22 NOUTII AMKRICAM P.IRDS. week, I found this same ]>air, wliicli T easily ivcoj^nized, building tlieir nest anion*,' some vines near my liouse, some eight teet tVom the ground. They had abandoned my neighbor's grounds and taken refuge dose to my liouse. This situation tliev resorted to afterwards for several successive sunnners, each season buildhig two nests, never using the same nest a second time, altliougli each time it was left as clean and in as good condition as wlien first made. Indeed, this species is remarkable for its cleanliness, both in its own person and in its care of nestlings and nests. They feed their young chietly with insects, especially small caterpillars ; the destructive canker-worm is one of their favorite articles of food, also the larviX3 of insects and the smaller moths. When crundis of bread are given them, they are eagerly g.ithered and taken to their nests. In the Middle States they are said to have three broods in a season. This may also be so in Xew England, but I have never known one pair to have more than two broods in the same summer, even when both had been suc- cessfully reared. Nests found after July ha\e always been in cases where some accident had befallen the preceding brood. The nest of the Song Si)arrow, whether built on ground, bush, or tree, is always well and thoroughly made. Externally and at the base it consists of stout stems of grasses, fibrous twigs of plants, and small sticks and rootlets. These are strongly wrought together. "Within is made a neat, well-woven basket of fine long stems of grasses, rarely anything else. On the ground they are usually concealed beneath a tuft of grass ; sometimes they make a covered passage-way of several inches, leading to their nest. When built in a tree or shrub, the top is often sheltered by the branches or by dry leaves, forming a covering to the structure. The eggs of the Song Sparrow are five in number, and have an average measurement of .82 by .GO of an inch. They have a ground of a clay-color or dirty white, and are spotted ecpially over the entire egg with blotches of a rusty-brown, intermingled with lighter shades of i)urple. In some these markings are so numerous and confluent as to entirely conceal the ground- color ; in others they are irregularly diffused over different parts, leaving patches unmarked. Occasionally the eggs are unspotted, and are then not unlike those of Lcacostictc griscinucha. Melospiza melodia var. fallax, Baird. WESTERN SONG SPAEBOW. Zmotrichia falhiy, Baiiid, Pr. A. N. Sc. Ph. VII, June, IS')*, 119 (Put-l.lo Crook, New ^loxico). i Zonot rich ill fasciata, (Om.^ Oamrel, .1. A. N. Sc. Ph. 2d Series, I, 1847, 49. Melos-piza fallax, Baiud, IJinls X. Am. 1858, 481, pi. xxvii, f. 2. — IvEyNEULY, P. R. Pi. X, h. pi. xxvii, f. 2. — Cooi-Kii, Orn. Gil. I, 215. Sp. Char. Similar to var. mehih'a, but with t\w bill on the whole rather smaller, more slender, and darker. Legs quite duskv, not yellow. Entire plumage of a more FiJ::(iILLID.K — THK l'IX( IIKSS. 2-) jrrayish east, iiu-luilin.ir the whole snperrihary stripe. The streaks on throat and jii'^Mihmi in sjvriiijr are ahiiost bhick. as in ntrfodia ; in aiituiMn more rul'ous; in all eases (piite as sharply «h.'lineil :is in melodin. The hill is nearly hlack in si>ring. Il.vi!. Middle Province of United Stales, to the Sierra Nevatb. This race, intcvniodiato iK'twceii miloiUa and Jurrmaani in lia1»itat, is, liowL'Vt'r, liaidly so in (.'haiJic'tiTs. Tlie Mil is nmry slart of Southern California, and is particularly abundant in the valley of the Coh^rado. Dr. Kennerly observed this species only along Pueblo Creek, in the month of January. It did not confine itself to the oj)en valley, but was often seen among the thick bushes that margined the creek, far up into the Aztec Mountains, where the snow covered the ground. In its habits it resembled the Poospiza hel/i, being very restless and rajdd in its motions, accompany- ing them with a short chirp, feeding upon the seeds of the weeds that remained uncovered by the snow. Its flight was also rai)id and near the earth. The bird being very shy, Dr. Kennerly found it difticult to procure many specimens. According to Mr. Eidgway, the Western Song Sparrow is one of the most abundant of the resident species inhabiting the fertile portions of the Great Basin. It principally occupies the willows along the streams, but is also found in tide sloughs of the river valleys. From a long ac(|uaintance with the Western Song Sparrows, Mr. Kidgway is fully convinced of the pro- priety of recognizing this as a distinct variety from the eastern J/, mclodta. In all respects, as to habits, esjiecially in its familiarity, it replaces at the West the well-known Song Sparrow of the East. When first heard, the ]>eculiar measure and delivery of its song at once attracts attention. The 24 NOiail AMERICAN UIKDS. precision of style and methud of nttemnce are quite distinct and constant peculiarities. The sonu', tliouj^h as i)lea.sing, is not so loud as that of the eastern Soui,' Sparrow, wliile llie measure is very ditlerent. He noted tlie syllahles of its son.;, and found tlieni ([uite uniform. He expresses the S(»n«,' thus: CJia-ilK(-rha-cha-id succes- sion, each beiuLj uttered with deliberation and distinctness. Then comes a pause between the last " cha " and the " wit," which is i>ronounce to lliu iiittTHcapular Ifutlit'i's are imt aj»preeia})ly i»aler tliaii tlie ]»revailin^' shade, instead of beini,^ Ik Kiry whitish, in strong e<»ntrast. Jn si»ring the " hridle" on the sitlf of tlie th.-oat and tlie spots on the jnuuluni liave the hlaek of their eentral portion in excess of their external rulous suffusion ; luit in autumn the rusty rather predominates ; at this season, too, the rusty tints above overspread the whole surface, but the black streaks are left sharjily defined. At all seasons, the s]>ots on the jugulum are broader and I'ather more numerous than in iniliKlia. The voungcan scarcely be distinguished from those of nu/txlu/, but they have the dark streaks on the crown and upper tail-coverts considerably broader. Haiuts. The California Song Sjuirrow has been named in honor of the late Dr. Heermaini, who first obtained specimens of this bird in the Tejoii Valley, and mistook them for the Zo/iulrirhiti (juttuta of CJambel (J/, nijiaa), from which they were appreciably different. AVhetlier a distinct species or only a local race, this bird takes the place and is the almost precise counterpart, in most essential respects, of the Song Sparrow of the East. The exact limits of its distribution, both in the migratory season and in that of re])roduction, have hardly yet been ascertained. It has been found in California as far north as San Francisco, and to the south and southeast to San Diego and the Mohave lliver. The California Song Spariow is the characteristic Mdoqnza in all that por- tion of the Stat' ^outh of San Francisco. It is found, Dr. Cooper states, in every localitv vhere there are thickets of low bushes and tall weeds, espe- cially in the vicniity of water, and wherever unmolested it comes about the gardens and liouses with all the familiarity of the connnon wehilia. The ground, under the shade of plants or bushes, is their usual jdace of resort. There they diligently search for their foartially hatched. This was l»uilt of coarse dry stems and leaves, lined with tiiicr grasses and horse-hair. It was Hve inches in external diameter, and lour high. The cavity was two and a half inchi'S dee]> and two in diamet<'r. These eggs had a gminul of greenish-while, and were l>loi(lied ami spotted witli a j»uri»lisli-l»ro\vn, cliielly at the larger end. They were .SJ hy .ij'2 of an inch in measnrcimMit. The grouml-color was paler and the spots were darker than in eggs of Z. tfitnhili, the whole coloring nnich darker than in those of M.fiilhiu'. 'I'his nest was apparently an (»ld one used for a second brood. Another nest found as late as July 10, and doubtless a second brood, was in a thicket, six feet from the ground, and also contained four eggs. l)r. Cooper states that he has seen the newly Hedged young by the 7th of May. l)r. lleermann, in his account of this bird, which he supposed to be the fjntftftn of J>r. (Jiimbel, states that he found it abundant ilnoughout the whole country over which he passed, and m(»re especially so in the bushes bordering the streams, ponds, and marshes. Its notes, sweet, and few in iuind)er, resembled those of the common Song Sparrow. Its nests, usually built in thick tufts of bushes, were composed externally of grasses and lined with hair, and contained each four eggs, with a pale bluish-ash ground, thickly covered with dashes of burnt uml)er. Eggs of this species, from near Monterey, cidlected by Dr. Cantield, vary in measurement from .80 by .Oo of an inch to .8S by .?<•, — larger than any eggs of JArAw^*/:// mrlodla that I have seen. Their ground-color is a light green. The blotclass are large, distinct, and more or less conHuent, and of a blended reihlish and purjdish brown. They are in some ditfused over the entire egg, in others disposed around the larger end. Melospiza melodia, var. samuelis, r>AmD. SAMUELS'S 80KG SPABBOW. i Ammodromus samuelis, Baikd, Pr. IJoston Soc. N. H. VI, June, 1858, 381. — Ib. Birds j N.Am. 1855<, 455, pi. Ixxi, f. 1. — Coopku, Orn. Cal. I, 191. Melospiza gouldi, \; Baird, Birds X. Am. 1858, -I7i». Sp. Char. Somewhat like Melospizti melodia^ but eonsideranly smaller and r alM)ve ^Mayish-nlive, outer snrfaee of win.i^'s, with tlie crown, more rufous; crown with narrow, and dorsal region with hroad, stripes of hlack, the hitter with scarcely a perceptil>U' rufous sutVusion; crown with a distinct median stripi? of ashy. Streaks on ju^^duni, etc., broader than in the ty])e, and with a slight rufous suiVusiini. \Vin«i, --<> ; tail, 2.00; hill from nostril .31, its depth .22 ; tarsus .74 ; niitldle toe without claw, .♦)(>. The typo of Milospizo f/ou/di resemldes the last, and differs only in liavinj^ a more distinct rufous suffusion to tlie hlack markings; the measurements are as follows : Wing, '2.20; tail, 2.0.'); hiU, .33 by .2)5 ; tarsus, .73; middle toe without claw, .r>!>. This is j»rol>ably a dwarfed race of the common species, the very small size being its chief distinctive character. The colors are moet nearly like tho.se of hrrmanni, l>nt are considerably darker, caused by an expansion of the black and contraction of the rufous markings. The pattern of colora- tion is precisely the same as in the other races. The present bird ajipears to be ])eculiar to the coast region of California, the only specimens iu the collection being from the neigh Imrhood of San Fmncisco. IlAiiiTs. Of the history, distribution, and general habits of this species, nothing is known. It was found at retalunia, Cal., by Emanuel Samuels, and described in the Proceedings of the Iioston Society of Natural History in 1858. The following description of the nest and eggs of this bird, in the Smithsonian collection, has been kindly furnished me by Mr. llidgway. Nests elaborate and symmetrical, cup-shaj)ed, composed of thin grass- stems, but externally cliieHy of grass-blades and strii>s of thin inner bark. Diameter about 3.5(1 inches; internal diameter 2.00, and internal dejith 1.50; external, 2.00. Egg measures .78 by .62 ; regularly ovate in shape ; ground- color, greenish-white ; this is thickly sprinkled with i)urplish and livid ashy- brown, the s])ecks larger, and somewhat coalescent, around the larger circum- ference. (3553, San Francisco, Cal., J. Hepburn.) Melospiza melodia, var. guttata, Baird. OBEOOK SOKG 8PABB0W. Fringilla cincrca, (Om.) Aud. Orn. Biog. V, 1839, 22, pi. cccxc. — Ib. Syn. 1839, 119.— Ib. Birds Am. Ill, 1841, 145, pi. tlxxxvii. Passn-clla cincrca, Br. List, 1839. — Ib. Conspt'ctus, IS.'iO, 477. FrinfjiJIa (Passrrcna) guttata, Nuttall, Man. I, (2ded.,> 1840, 581. Zo7wtrichia guttata, Gambel, J. A. N. Sc. I, Dec. 1847, 50. Melonpiza rujiiui, Bairi), Birds N. Am. 1858, 480. — Coopefi & Suckley, 204. — Dall& Bannister, Tr. Ch. Ac. I, 1859, 285. — C(k.i'eu, Oni. Cal. I, 214. Sp. Char. Bill slender. Similar in jreneral appearance to 3f. meJodin, but darker and much more rufous, and without any blackish-brown streaks, or grayish edges of the 2S NoKTlI AMKUICAN lUllH.v [J fi-athcns ; ponorallv tlic colors inor«' IdtMHlcil. rtciinal apprnranoo altovo li;^'lit nifoiis- '•I'own, tlu' int«Tsra|tiilai' iv«,Mon stivakrd vny »»li>olt'fi'ly with .";'); winjr. 2.7t>; tail, 3.00. Le^s rather darker thati in me/odin. Hill from nostril. .'.\~ ; from forehead, M\ Had. Pacific cojust of the United State> to British Cohiinbia. A yotiij^' ]>ird from Xapa Vall«'y, ( al. (l:i,!U2, Colonel A. J. (Jrayson), probaMy left'iriMe to this race, ditVers t'roiii t'oe correspoiulinjT staL>o « 'J! I lostcd. it I K'ct lilies vt'iv tiiiiiiliiir. :iimI the old birds itiinu' tliuir youn^r to ihc (hinr In ftu'd, as soon us tlu'V can leave their in*st. Their soiiij: is said to so rloselv resenihlo that of the eastern Itird, in melody and varictv, that it is ini|M»ssi]»le either to tell wliich is the superior or to point out the diU'erencos. In wild districts it is always to 1m^ t'ouiid near the sides ot" hrooks, in thickets, from whieh it jealously drives olf other hirds, whether of its own or other si>eeies, as if it considere(l itself the proprietor. Its nest is huilt on the j)ing about and searching after insects, in the manner of the Swamp Sparrcnv, which they so nnich resemble in their plumage. They are usually very solicitous for the safety of their young or for their nests and eggs, kee}»ing up an incessant chirj). They raise several broods in a season, and are, like the Song Sparrow, also engaged nearly the whole of the summer in the cares of rearing their young. Mr. Townsend met with this si)ecies through several hundred miles of the Platte country in great numbers, as well as on the banks of the Columbia, generally frecpienting the low bushes of wormwood {Arttiiilsia). It appeared also to be a very })Ugnacious sjiecies. Two of the males were often observed fighting in the air, the beaten party going off crestfallen, and the coujjueror repairing to the nearest bush to celebrate his triumph by his lively and tri- umphant strains. He again met with these birds, though not in abundance, in June, 1825, at the mouth of the Lewis lii ver, on the waters of the Colmnbia. This Sparrow was also found very numerous at Sitka, by Mr. liischofF, but no mention is made of its habits. Melospiza melodia, var. rufina, Baird. BUSTY SONG 8FABR0W. EmherizK rttfina, " Brandt, De.^c. Av. Kossic 1S3«;, tab. ii, r» (Sitka)," Bonaparte. Pas- serclla rujina, Boxap. ron.sjt. IS.'M), 477. (This may refer to A'Ascn/Za /ojnm/irfi, but is more probably the jmsent bird. ) Melospiza cinered, Fin.sch, Abh. Nat. HI, 1872, 41 (8itka). (Not Frinyilla c. Gmel.) M. giUtata, Fin.sch, Abh. Nat. Ill, 1872, 41 (Sitka). (Not Frhigilla g. Nitt.) Sf. Char. Resembling M. guttata in the nndefined markings, slender bill, etc., but olivaceous-brownish instead of rufous above, the darker markings sepia-bruwii instead 30 NOUTH A MKIIK'AX ■ 151 UDS. of castaneous. Tlie white beneath much liiiged with ashy; ju;^'iihiin-spots hlcinlcd, and of a st'pia-hrowii tint. Wini)earanet^ as well as in h.d»itat. Tr.ieing this variety toward the Colinnhia IJiver, it gradually passes into the former, and northward into the latter. "We have no distinctive information relative to the hahits of this race. Melospiza melodia, var. insignis, Daird. XODIAK BONO SPABBOW. 1 Frliuiilla ciiittra, (J.MKi.is', I, 17^8, 1»22 ^biisrd on Cincroous Fiiu-h, Lath. II, 274). — rKNN. Are. Zool. 11, t>8 ^I'lialaschka). Eiubcfiza citirrra, Honai'. Coiisp. 18;'»0, 47S, M,ht,ynza insujins, Uaiki», Tniiis. Chiciigo Awul. I, ii, 18»>0, p. oV.\ \\\. xxix, tig. 2. — 1)aix& IUnnistku, do. p. 285. — Finsch, Ahh. Nat. Ill, 1872, 44 'Kodiak). Sp. Ciiar. Smnmer jihimage (52,477 solete streaks of sepia-brown ; crown and upper tail-eoverts with more sharply defined and narrower dusky .^haft-streaks. Crown without medial light line. I'eneath irrayisji-white, mueh obscure«l by browni.^h- ])lumbeous laterally. A whitish supraloral space, but no apj)reciable superciliary stripe ; a whitish maxillary stripe; beneath it an irregular one of dusky .>0; tail, o.'jO ; bill, .48 from nostril, .28 deep at base, and .21 in the middle, the middle of the culmen being mueh depressed, its extremity rather abruptly decurved. Autumnal phuhfif/e (00,102, Kodiak, received from Dr. J. F. Brandt). Differs very remarkably in appearance li-om the preceding. The pattern of coloration is everywhere ])lainly })lotted, there being a distinct vertical ami sharply defined superciliary stripe. Ground-color above ashy, somewhat overlaid by rusty, except on the sides of the neck. Whole crown, outer surface of wings, and dorsal streaks, rusty rufous; black streaks on crown and upper tail-coverts obsolete. Beneath pme white medially, the markings rusty rufous. Wing, 3.30; tail, 3.00 ; bill, .47 .and .30. Hab. Kodiak and TJnalaschka. This race represents the extreme extent of variation in the species, and it woidd he dithciilt for a species to proceed farther fr«)mthe normal standard; imieed, the present bird is so different even in form, especially of bill, from rndodia, that, were it not for the perfect series connecting them, few natural- ists would hesitate to place them in different genera. Habits. No information has so far been published in reference to the nesting ^f this Sparrow, or of any peculiar habits. l-HINCIM-in.K -TFIK KINcriKS. ;]1 Melospiza lincolni, 1>aiiu). UHCOLirS FINCH. Friifjilla linrohii, Ai'D. Om. Uio;,'. II, 1,h:j4, :Mt, pi. rxriii. - Xrrr. Mmi. I, (-J.l cl,,) l.sto, ;)»>U. LiiHtn'n liiirohii, llu H. List. 1^37. I'lLSfurniliis linm/ni, Uonai". Li.st, lf*:iN. /'eiica-H liuriUni, AuD. Synojwis, IMjy, 113. — Id. liinls Am. Ill, 1^41, llt$, pi. ilxxvii. — HoXAi". Consp. 1850, 481. In. I'oinptos HcjkIus, XXVI I, 18:»4, l»2(). Mr/nspr.it lincolni, Haii:i>, Hir Is N. Am l8.'i.s, 482. — I)all& Hannistku, Tr. Ch. Ac. I, l>tili, 285 (Alaska). — t'nni'i:i:, Oru. C'lil. I, 21*J. J'liHserculus zutuiriiu'<, (IW.) i?)iLxn:n, Vr. Z(Mtl. S(H-. 185H, 305. .^p. ('iiAi{. (JtiuTai asjtect above tli)»t of M, melodid^ Imt paler and less nMldisli. ('if)\vii iliill clii>tiiut, with a median ami lateral or supereiliaiy ash-rtiloied stiipe; ea«h feather ahove streaked eentrally with black. liack with narrow streaks of Maek. IJeneath white, with a maxillary stripe eiirvin*; round behind the ear-coverts; a well-delined l»atid across the breast, extendinj,' down the sides, and the under tail-eoverts, of brownish-yellow. The niaxillaiy stripe margined alcove and l»elow w ith lines of black sjxtts and a dusky lino behind eye. The throat, upper part of brujist, and sides of the body, with streaks of black, smallest in th** middle of the former. The pectoral bands are «ometimi'S paler, liill above dusky ; base of lower jaw and le. and soutli through Mexico to Panama. Oaxaca (S«'L. IH.'jS, :{0;I) ; Xalapa (ScL. 18.jU, 305) ; Guatemala (Scl. Il»is, I, 18) ; Vera Cruz, winter (Sim. M. B. S. I, hi't^i). There is little or no difference in .specimens of this bird from tlie whole of its rankle, except that one from near Aspinwall is consi^lerahly smaller than usual, the streaks on the back narrower, and the color ah;»ve more reddish. A young bird from Fort Simpson, on the Mackenzie, is much like the adult. Habit-s. Lincoln's Finch was first met witli l>v' Mr. Audtibon in Labrador, and named in honor c»f one of his companions, Mr. Thomas Lincoln, now residing at Dennysville, Elaine, by whom the first specimen was i>rocured. His attention was attracted to it by the sweet notes of its song, which, he states, surpass in vigor those of any of our American Sparrows with which he was acquainted. He descril)es this song as a compound of the notes of a Canary and a Woodlark of Europe. The bird was unusually wild, and was procured with great difficulty. )ther specimens, afterwards obtained, did not exhibit the same degree of ^'ildness, and they became more com- mon as the imrty ])roceeded farther north. He did not meet with its nest. He descri]>es the habits of this species as resembling, in some respects, those of the Song Sparrow, It mounts, like that l)ird, on the topmost twig of some tall shrub to chant for whole hours at a time, or dives into the thickets and hops from branch to branch until it reaches the ground in search of those insects or berries on which it feeds. It moves swiftly away when it discovers an enemy, and, if forced to take to flight, flies low and rapidly to a consider- able distance, jerking its tail as it proceeds, and throwing itself into the thick- est bush it meets. Mr. Audubon found it mostly near streams, and always in the small valleys guarded from the prevalent cold winds of that countiy. 32 North amkkican luiiiKS. He also doserilx's tins s])0(*i(\s as eminently petulant and jiniznarious Two males would often ])nrsne eaeli other until the weaker was forced to nliandon the valley, and seek refui^e elsewhere. II«; seldom saw mon* than two or three pairs in a traet of several miles in extent. \\y the 4th of July tlie youn^ had lett their nests and were foUowiui,' their ]tarents. As from that time the old birds eeased to sin^i, he inferred that thev raised but one brood in a season. liefore he left Lalaador these birds had all disiip]»eare(l, Althou,i4;h first diseovered on the eoast of Lidjrad(>r, subsequent explorations liave shown this bird to be far more eonnnon at the West than it is at the Ea.st, where indeed it is exeeetlinifly rare. Xot a specimen, that I am aware of, has ever been found in Maine, although it probably does oeeasionally oecur there; and only a very few isolated individuals had been taken in Massa- chusetts before the siding of 187-, when thev were noticed bv Mr. Brewster and Mr. Ilenshaw in considerable nund)ers. These birds, seven or eight in iium]>er, were shot, with two exceptions, in ^lay, between the 14th and the 2r»th. Three were taken in Springtiehl by ^Ir. Allen, one in Xewburv})ort by ^Fr. llo.xie, two in Hudson by ?»Ir. Jillson, and two in Candtridge by Mr. lirewster. The latter were obtained, one in September and the other in October. In ^Fay, 1S72, ^Fr. Brewster obtained six others. ^Fr. Allen had met with this Finch in Wavne Countv, X. V., in Mav, where it was not uncommon, and in Xorthern Fllinois, where it was (piite numerous. A few have been taken near Xew^ York ( 'ity, and in the neighborhood of Bhila- delphia, wdiere they are regarded as very rare. Professor Baird, however, frequently met with them at Carlisle, l*enn. Farther west, from the Mississippi Valley to the Pacific, they are much more common. Mr. Kidiiwav .states that thev occasionallv winter in South- ern Illinois, where they freipient retired thickets near open fields. They have been found breeding' near Pacine, Wis., bv Dr. Hov, and have been met with also in X^ebraska in considerable numbers; and, during the breeding- season, ]Mr. Audubon met with them on the Upper Missouri. From ]\Farch to ]\Fav ^Fr. Dresser found these birds very abundant in the fields near the San Antonio Piver. and in some swani])y grounds. They seemed to prefer that sort of locality, and the banks of the river, keeping among the flags and rushes. Their stomachs were found to contain small seeds. Mr. Lincecum also met with a few in Washington County of the same State. It was not met with in Arizona bv Dr. Cones, but Dr. Ivennerly fovnd it in the month of Februarv from the Big Sandy to the (rreat Colorado P>.ver. It confined itself to the thick bushes along the streams, and when seen was generally busily hopping from twig to twig in search of food. When stalled up, its flight was very ra|)id and near the earth. Dr. Heermann obtained this s])ecies, not unfrequently, both in Xorthern California and in the Tejoii Valk'V. On all occasions he found it in company with flocks of S]»arrow"s, composed of se\eral species. FRINGILLID.E — THE FINCHES. *^3 Lieiitonaiit Coucli took tliis yp<'cies at Tiiiiuiuliitas, ^roxico, ami at Browns- ville, Soutliwesteni Texas, in March. It has also been seen in ^lay, at the Forks of the Saskatchewan, hy ('ai)tain lilakiston. Lincr)ln's Finch was met with hy Mr. IJidgway in abundance only durinj,' its spring and tall migrations. Towards the last of April it was quite C(unmon in wet brushy places in the vicinity of C'arson City. It was next observed in Octol)er ann)ng the willows bordering Deep Creek, in N(jrthcrn Utah. In the weedy pastures in Parley's Park it was a common species, frequenting the resorts of the Z. hiicuphnjs. A nest, with young, was dis- covered near the camp. It was end)edded in the giound, beneath a bush. Its song he did not hear, only a single ckiick, almost as loud as that of the rasserclla schist acea. Dr. Cooper reports this species as near San Diego about March 25. Large Hocks were then ])assing northward. During the day they kei)t auKuig the grass, and were rather shy and silent. They seemed to have a good deal of the hal)its of the Paxscrculiis, and to differ much in their gregariousness, their migratory habits, and their general form, from the other Mfloxpka\ Dr. Cooper did not meet Mith any of tht>se l)irds in the C'olorado Valley, nor has he seen or heard of anv having been found in California during the summer. The M. iinco/iii has been found breeding up to high Arctic latitudes. It was met with by Mr. Kennicott at Fort Simi)Son and at Fort Kesolution. At the latter place its nests were found between the 2d and the l-4th of June. They were also obtained in ^lay, June, and July, at Fort Simpson, by Mr. I), li. Koss, and at Yukon Kiver, Fort line, Xulato, and other localities in the extreme northern regions, by ^lessrs. lieid, lA)ckhart, Clarke, Kirk by. and Dali. On ^It. Lincoln, Colorado, above eight thousand feet, Mr. Allen found this Sparrow very numerous. This Finch was found bv Salvin about the reeds on the mar:or(jiana, Nurr. Man. 1, (2di:d.,) 1840, 588. Sp. Char. Middle of the crown uniform chestnut; forehead black; superciliary streak, sides of head and back, antl sides of neck, ash. A brown stripe behind the eye. Back with broad streaks of black, which are edged w.th rusty yellow. Beneath whitish, tintred with ashy anteriorly, especially' across the breast, and washed with yellowish- brown on the sides. A few obsolete streaks across the breast, whi(;h become distinct on its sides. Wings and tail strongly tinged with rufous; the tertials black, the rufous edgings changing abruptly to white towards the end. Length, 5.75 ; wing-, 2.40. Female with the crown scarcely reddish streak<'d with black, and divided by a light line. Young conspicuously streaked beneath the head, above nearly unilbrm blackish. Hab. Eastern North America from the Ai. .tic to the Missouri; north to Fort Simp- son. In autiuim the male of tliis species has the feathers of the crown each with a black streak ; and the centre of the crown with an indistinct light stripe, materially chani^ing its appearance. The forehead is nsuallv more or less streaked with black. In the uncertainty whether the FriiKjilla m'onjinna of Latham be not rather the Pcucaa cesHvalis than the Swamp Sparrow, I think it best to retain Wilson's name. It certainly apjJies as well to the latter, which has the black sub-maxillary streak, and the chin and throat more mouse-colored thaw in imlvMr I. ^. Habits. Owing to the residence of this species in localities not favoring fre([uent visits or carefid explorations, and still more to its shy and retiring ha])its, our writers have not been generally well informed as to the history and general manners of this peculiar and interesting Sparrow. Its irregular distribution, its abundance only in certain and unusually restricted locali- ties, its entire absence from all the surrounding neigh) )orhood, and its secre- tiveiiess wherever found, have all combined to throw doubt and obscurity over its movements. I'nless purposely looked for and perseveringly hunted up, the Swamp Sparrow might exist in large numbers in one's immediate neighborhood and yet entirely escape notice. Even now its whole story is but imperfectly known, and more careful investigation into its distribution and general habits wiU doubtless clear up several obscure points in regard to its movements. II From what is now knoMn, we gather that it occurs throughout the eastern portions of North America, from the Southern States, in which it passes the FKINGILLID.K — THE FINCHES. 35 wintry months, to liigh northern hititudes, where some find their way in the breeiUng-seiusou, extending as far to the west at least as the Missouri lli\ er region. I'hree specimens were obtained at Fort Simpson, by Mr. Kennicott, in Sep- tember, which imlicates their probable summer ]>resenee in Lititude r)')", and thei'" near approach to the Pacific coast at the extreme northwestern portion of t-. ir distribution. Audubon also met with them in Nf wtounurplish brown spots, varyin^jf in size and number, occasionally forming a confluent ring around the larger end. Genus Audubon. PcKccea, Arn. S}Tiopsis, 1839. (Tyix', Frinjilla astivolh.) Sclater & Salvin, 18G8, 322 (Synopsis.) Grx. Char. Bill moderate. Upper outline and commissure decidedly curved. Leg.s and feet with the claws small ; the tarsus about equal to the middle toe ; the lateral toes equal, their claws Hilling' considerably short of the middle one ; the hind toe reaching about to the middle of the latter. The outstretched feet reach rather beyond the middle of the tail. The wing is very short, reaching only to the base of the tail ; the longest tertials do not exceed the secondaries, while both are not much short of the primL-ies; the outer three or four quills are graduated. The tail is consider- ably longer than the wings ; it is much graduated laterally; the feathers, though long, are peculiarly narrow, linear, and ellipti- eally rounded at the ends. Color 1)encath plain whitish or brownish, with a more or less distinct dusky line each side of the chin. Above with broad obsolete brown streaks or blotches. Crown uniform, or the feathers edged with lighter. Species and Varieties. CoMMOK CrrARACTERS. A light superciliary stripe, with a brownish one below it from the eye along upper edge of ear-coverts (not one along lower edge of ear-coverts, as \\\ Mehspiza). A nam blackish '-bridle " along side of throat (sometimes indistinct). Crown without a distinct median stripe, and lower parts without markings. Ground-color above ashy, sometimes of a brownish cast ; dorsal region and nape with brown blotches, with or without dark centres. Crown blackish-brown streaked with ashy or plain rufous. Beneath plain brownish-white, lightest on the abdomen, darker across jugulum and along sides. Peiirtra (tstivalis. 38 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. A. Crown plain rufons ; interscapulars without distinct black contrcf?, and tertiuls without whitish border. UluckLsh "bridle" eonspieuou^s. iJend of wing cdfjed with white. 1. P. ruficeps. Above olivaceous-ash, interscapulars with broad streaks of dull rufous, the shafts scarcely blackish. Crown bright rulbus. Wing, 2.40; tail, 2.70; bill, .29 from forehead, .20 deep; tarsus, .7<>; middle toe without claw, .;").■). Ilah. California (and Mexico in winter?) var. rn/iceps. Darker, above brownish-plumbeous, dorsal streaks scarcely rufous, and with distinctly black shatt-streaks ; crown darker rufous. Wing, 2.40; tail, 2.fiO; bill, .34 and .2.') ; tarsus, .77 ; middle toe, J}7. Hah. Mexico (Orizaba ; Oaxaca), in summer . var. hoticardi} B* Crown streaked ; interscapulars with distinct black centres ; tertials sharply bordered terminally with paler. "Bridle" obsolete; bend of wing edged with yellowish. 2. P. aestivaliB. Above uniformly marked with broad streaks or lon- gitudinal blotches of deep rufous ; black streaks confined to interscapu- lars and crown. Tail-feathers without darker shaft-stripe, and without indications of darker bars ; the outer feathers without distinct white. Black marks on upper tail-coverts inconspicuous, longitudinal. The bluish-ash, and chestnut-rufous streaks above sharply con- trasted ; black dorsal streaks broad. Wing, 2.45 ; tad, 2.G;"> ; bill, .30 and .30 ; tarsus, .73 ; middle toe, .60. Hah. Southern States from Florida and Georgia to Southern Illinois . . var. cbstivalifi. The dull ash and light rufous streaks above not sharply defined ; black dorsal streaks narrow. Wing, 2.G.") ; tail, 3.00; bill, .32 and .25 ; tarsus, .80 ; middle toe, .63. Hub. Southern border of the Arizona region of Middle Province of United States . . var. nrizoncp.. Markings badly defined as in the last, but the rufous streaks darker (in summer plumage almost entirely black), with more black on the crown. Wing, 2.55 ; tail, 2.G5 ; bill, .32 and .25 ; tarsus, .80; middle toe, .60. Hah. Mexico (Orizaba; Mirador, Coliraa). var. hotter i I ."•' 3. P. cassini. Above marked ever}'^ where with broad short streaks of pale (not reddish) brown streaks, all black medially. Tail-feathers with ^ Zonotrichia boncardi, Sclatek, T. Z. S. 1867, 1, pi. i, La Puebla, Hex. (scarcely definable as distinct from r^/jctyw). 2 Pcuctm hotkrii, Sclateii, Cat. Am. B. 1862, 116 {Zonotrichia b. V. Z. S. 1857, 214), Ori- zaba. Cuturtiicuhis mcxicana. Lawk. Ann. N. Y. Lye. VIII, 1867, 474 (Colinia). This form can scarcely be defined separately from ocstivalis. The type of C. mexicunus, Lawk., is undistinguishable from Orizaba specimens. A specimen in the worn summer plumage (44,7529? Mirador, July) differs in hiiving the streaks above almost wholly black, with scarcely any rufous edge ; the crown is almost uniformly blackish. The feathers are very much worn, however, and the specimen is without doubt referrible to hottcri. The Peuccca notostida of Sclater (P. Z. S. 1868, 322) we have not seen ; it appears to differ in some impoi-tant respects from the forms diagnosed above, and may, possibly, Ikj a good species. Its place in our system appears to be with section "A," but it differs from ruficeps and houcardi in the median stripe on the crown, arfd the black streaks in the nifous of the lateral portion, the blacker streaks of the dorsal region, and some other less important points of coloration. The size appears to ha larger than in any of the forms given in our synopsis (wing, 2.70 ; tail, 3.00). Hah. States of Puebla and Mexico, Mex. -a FRINGILLID.E — THE FIXCUKS. 31) (listinrt Llarkisli shafl-stripo, throwing' ofT narrow, obsolcto bars toward the edge of the leathers. Outer tail-leathers (hstiiielly ti|>i)ed (l>roadly) and edged with >), pi. rlxv. AmhUHlromus hackmani, Bon. List, 1838. Pcucucahachmani, Aui). Syn. 1839. — Ib. Birds Am. Ill, 1841, 113, pi. clxxvi. — Bon. Consp. 1850, 481 (type). FringUla astiva, Nrrr. I, (2d ed.,) 1840, 568. '' Summer fnch, Latham, Synopsis, (2ded.,) VI, 136." Nuttall. Sp. Char. All the feathers of the upper parts rather dark brownish-red or chestnut, margined with bluish-ash, which almost forms a median stripe on the crown. Inter- scapular region and uj»per tail-coverts with the feathers becoming black in the centre. An indistinct ashy suju'rciliary stripe. Lender parts pale yellow-brownish, tinged with ashy on the sides, and with darker brownish across the upper part of the breast. A faint maxillary dusky line. Indistinct streaks of chestnut along the sides. Edge of wing yellow ; lesser coverts tinged Avith greenish. Innermost secondaries abruptly margined with narrow whitish. Legs yellow. Bill above dusky, j'cllowish beneath. Outer tail- feathers obsoletely marked with a long blotch of paler at end. Female considerably smaller. Young with rounded dusky specks on the jugulum, which is more ochraceous. Length, 0.25 ; wing. 2..30 ; tail, 2.78. Hab. Georgia; Florida; South Illinois, breeding (Ridgway). (Perhaps whole of Southern States from Florida to South Illinois.) Specimens from Southern Illinois (Wabash Co., July, 1871; coll. of R. Ridgway) are similar to Florida examples. Habits. Bachman's Finch has only been known, until very recently, as a species of a very restricted range, and confined within the limits of the States of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. Our principal, and for some time our only, knowledge of its habits was derived from the account fur- nished by Rev. Dr. Bachman to Mr. Audubon. That observing naturalist first met with it in the month of April, 1832, near Parker's Ferry, on the Edisto River, in South Carolina. Dr. Henry Bryant afterwards met with this species at Indian River, in Florida, where he obtained specimens of its nests Peurepa CFStivalis. 40 NnllTII AMHKICAN r.IKDS. ami i'^'«^s. Dr. Alfxaiulcr ( Jcrliardt also found these Sparrows common at VaiiK'H's Station, in the northern jtart of (•lenrj^na. Professor .Toseph heconte has taken it near Savannali, and Mr. W. 1.. Jones has also ohtained several s]>eeiniens in Lil)erty County, in the same State. After meeting with tliis sjjecies on the Edisto, Dr. Baehman ascertained, upon searching for tliem in tlie vicinity of Charlestown, that tliey breed in small nunihers on the pine barrens, about six miles north of tliat city. He was of the opini(>n that it is by no means so rare in tliat State as has been sii])po.sed, but that it is more often heard than seen. When he first heard it, the notes so doselv resembled those of the Towliee I>untin«; that for a while he mistook them for tliose of that bird. Their greater sf>ftness jind some slight variations at last induced him to suspect that tlie bird was something different, and led him to go in jmrsuit. After that it was ipiite a common thini^ for him to hear as manv as five or six in the course of a morn- ing's ride, but he found it almost impossible to get even a sight of the bird. This is owing, not so much to its being so wild, as to the habit it has of darting from the tall pine-trees, on which it usually sits to warble out its melodious notes, and concealing itself in the tall broom-grass that is almost invariably found in the places it freipients. As soon as it alights it runs off, in the manner of a mouse, and hides itself in the grass, and it is extremely ditficult to get a siiilit of it afterwards. It was supposed l>y Dr. Bachman — correctly, as it has been ascertained — to breed on the jiround, where it is always to be found when it is not sinjirinfr. He never met with its nest. In June, ISo^^, he observed two pairs of these l)irds, each having four young. They were pretty well fledged, aud were fol- lowing their parents along the low scrub-oaks of the ])ine lands. Dr. Bachman regarded this bird as decidedly the finest songster of the Sparrow family with which he was acquainted. Its notes are descril;)ed as very loud for the size of the bird, and capable of being heard at a consider- able distance in the pine woods where it occurs, and where at that season it is the only singer. He also states that, by the middle of November, they have all disap- peared, ])robably migrating farther south. It is quite probable that they do not go bevond the limits of the United States, and that some remain in South Carolina during the whole of winter, as on the Gth of February, the coldest part of the year, Dr. Bachman found one of them in the long grass near Charleston. Mr. Audubon says that on his return from Florida, in June, 1832, travel- ling through both the Carolinas, he observed many of these Finches on the sides of the roads cut through the pine woods of South Carolina. They filled the air with their melodies. He traced them as far as the boundary line of North Caron...*, but saw none within the limits of that State. They were particularly abundant about the (Jreat Santee Iliver. This Finch, hitherto assumed to be an excdusively southeastern species, has FUI\GILLID.K - THE FINCJIK.S. 41 recently l)eeii doterted l>y l\Ir. IJiilgway in Soutliern Illinois, where it is a sunnner resilient, and where it breeds, hut is not almiulant. It inhabits old fields, where, perched u]>on a fence-stake or an old dead tree, it is described as chanting a very dtdi-ditful son*;. It was first t;iken on the 12tli of July, liSTl, (»n the road about halt- way between Blount Carniel and Oiney. The bird was then seen on a fence, and its unfamiliar appeamncu and fine sonj; at once attracted his notice as he was ridiny by. x\s seyeral were heard sin«Mn«' in the same nei«diborhood, it seemed common in that lo'^ality, and as a yount: bird was taken in its first i»lumaachman states, consists of the seeds of grasses, and also of coleopterous insects, as well as of a yariety of the smaU berries so abundant in that i)art of the country, lie speaks of its fiight as swift, direct, and somewhat protmcted, and adds that it is often out of sight before it alights. Dr. Coues did not meet with this Sparrow in South Carolina, but he was informed by Professor Leconte that it occurs about Columbia and elsewhere in the State, freciuenting open j)ine woods and old dry fields. Dr. Bryant met with its nest in Florida, Ajjril 20. It was similar, in con- struction, to that of the Sayannah Sparrow, and contained fiye eggs. It was the only S])arrow found by him in the pine barrens near Enterprise, and was only seen occasionally, when it was a yery ditticult bird to shoot, as it runs round in the grass more like a mouse than a bird, and will not fly until almost trodden on, then moying only a few feet at a time. The nests of this bird, found by Dr. Bryant in Horida and by Dr. (lerhardt in T^orthern Georgia, were all placed upon the ground and concealed in tufts of thick grass, and constructed entirely of coarse \viry grasses, with no other lining than this material. The eggs, four in number, are of a pure, almost brilliant white, of a rounded oyal shape, and measure .74 by .60 of an inch. FeucsBa sDStivalis var. arizonsB, Kidgway. ABIZOHA SPABKOW. Pewcea ca^ni, Baiud, Birds N. Am. 1858, 486. (Los Xogales specimen.) Sp. Char. (6,327 ^, Los Nog^ales, Northern Sonora, June, C. B. Kennerly.) Similar to P. astivalis, but paler; wings and tail lonprer. Above light cliestnut, all the feathers margined and tipped with bluish-gray, but the reddish prevailing. Interscapular and VOL. II. ._ - - - 6 42 NORTH AMKlilCAN UIKDS. crown feiitluTs with a narrow stroak ol" Mark, those on crown indistinct. Beneath dull whiti', tin;,'e(l with ashy-<.2 IVoni no>tril, .2.") dt'«-p at hjisc ; tarsns, .80; middle toe, .G3. Hah. Los Xogales, Sonora, and Sontht-rn Arizona. This race lias a coiisidt'ialdo rrscinldance to P. nstivaJix, Imt differs in some ai)i)ieiiaide points. The brown of the upper parts is paler, and thj ashy edging to the leathers appears ratlier less exti-nsive. The dark brown blotelies on the l»aek are of ^'reater extent, the blaek streaks on the baek confined to a mere stniak along the shaft. There is less of an olive tinge across the breast. The proportions of the present race differ more from those of aestivalis than do the e(»lors, the bill being more slender, and the wings and tail con- sideraldv Iniioer. The resemblance to J*, hntterii (= asflva/U, var. hotti rii) of Sclater, from ^Middle Mexico (Orizaba, Colima, etc.), is very close ; the difference being greater in the ])ro])urtiohs than in tlie colors, the latter having a shorter wing and tail, with tliicker bill, as in var. ostiadU. In hotkrii there is rather a predominance of the black over the rufous in tl\e streaks above. Hauits. This, in its general habits, nesting, eggs, etc., probably resembles the variety a'Mivalvi. Feucsea cassini, Baird. CAssnrs sparbow. Zonotrkhia caasiui, WoonnorsE, Pr. A. K Sc. Ph. VI, April, 1852, 60 (San Antonio). PofiHercuhis cassini, WooDHorsE, Sitgreavos's Kep. Zuni and Colorado, 1853, 85 ; Birds, pi. iv. Pexca-a cassini, Baiud, Birds X. Am. 1858, 485, pi. iv, f. 2, — Heebmann, X, c, p. 12, pi. iv, f. 2. — CooPEK, Orn. Cal. I, 219 (not from Cal.). Sp. Char. (0.329 ^, Texas; compared with type of species.) Ground-color of upper parts irrayish-ash ; the mifldle portion of each feather dull brown, in the form of a blotch, and with a black shai>-streak. the latter becoming modifie. Young. (4'),277, Laretlo. Te.xa.^ June 28.; Very similar, but with a tew drop-shaprd .Mtreaks of dark hrown on the ju;,Miluni and alon^ sides. The feathers above have a more appreciable terminal border <»f buiV. H.vn. Kio (irandt' re<,'iou of Southern Middle Province; Kansas, broedin;^' (Allkn). San Antonio, Texas, sumniei- (Dkkssek, Ibis, 18G5, -18!) ; eggs) \ ? Orizaba, temp. reg. (Sum. M. li. S. I, :>b\). In the liircls of North Ainericii, the specimen chai-acterized on p. 637 of the present work as asticalis, vur. (irhoiur, was referred to P. cas'^ini, those specimens whicli are here retained as such being considered as in quite im- mature plumage. A more recent examination of additional material, how- ever, has compelled us to change our view. In conseciuence of the similarity of the specimen in (juestion to astiva/is, as noted in the article referred to above, tlie general acceptation of the name cassini has been that of a term designating a variety of the common species ; but we have as the result of the investigation in question found it necessary to retain under the head of " cassini'' only the typical specimens from the Rio Grande region, and refer the su])posed aberrant specimen to astivfdis. Iii this Los Nogales specimen we find existing such differences in proportions and colors as are sutticient to warmnt our bestowing upon it a new name, and establishing it as the Middle Province race of adivalis, in this way connecting the South Atlantic and Mexican races (var. aestivalis and var. hotterii) by a more similar form than the P. cassi7ii, which must be set apart as an inde]»endent form, — in all probability a good species. Several facts are favorable to this view. First, we have of the P. cassini specimens which are beyond question in perfect adult plumage, and others which are undoubtedly immature ; they ditfer from eacli other only in such respects as w^ould be expected, and agree substantially in other characters, by which they are distinguished from the different styles of cestivalis. Secondly, the region to be filled by a peculiar race of aestivalis is represented by the var. arizona:, which is undoubtedly referrible to tliat species ; thus we have in one province these two different forms, whicli therefore are probably distinct. The present bird is hardly less distinct from the races of aestivalis than is ruficeps ; and we would be as willing to consider all the definable forms pre- sented in the synopsis as varieties of a single sjjecies, as to refer the present bird to aestivalis. Habits. This Finch, in its general appearance, as well as in respect to habits, nesting, and eggs, is (^uite similar to Bachman's Finch. It was first met with by Dr. Woodhouse, in tlie expedition to the Zuni Kiver, when he found it in Western Texas. He shot it on the prairies near San Antonio, on the 2oth of April, 1851, mistaking it for Fasserculus savanna^ \vliich, in its habits, it seemed to him very much to resemble, but upon examination it was found to be totally distinct. Ur. Heermann afterwards, being at Comanche Springs in Texas, had Ids 44 NORTH AMKIIICAX HlUUa Jittfiition attructeJ by tlu; new note of a ]nn\ unfaiuiliar to liim. It was found, after some observation, to proceed hum this species He descrilnis it as risin<,' with a tremulous motion of its winj^s some twenty feet or more, and then tlescending ii«,'ain, in tlie same manner, to within a few yards of the spot whence it started, and as acconipanyin^' its entire llij^nt with a len^'tliened and pleasin*,' sonjjj. The country in that nei«,dilK)rliood is very barren, covered with hnv stunted laislies, in which tlie bird takes refu<,'e on lieing alarmed, j^liding rai)idly throu;4h the j^rass anarty, and after that saw no more of them. They seemed, at the time, to be migrating, though their continued and oft- repeated song also showed that they were not far from readiness for the duties of incubation. The Pain eta cassini is said, by Mr. Sumichrast, to be a resident species in the valley of Orizaba, in the State of Vera Cruz, Mexico, and to be gen- erally distributed throughout the temperate region of that district. It is very probable, however, that he has in view the Mexican race of P. ctstivalia (var. hottfrii), and not the present species. Mr. J. A. Allen, who considers this bird only a western form of P. ccstiva- lis, mentions (Am. Xaturalist, May, 1S72) finding it ({uite frequently near the streams in Western Kansas, where its sweetly modulated song greets the ear with the first Ijreak of dawn, and is again heard at night till the last trace of twilight has disappeared. Mr. Allen also states, in a letter, that this bird was "tolerably common along the streams near Fort Hays, but veiy retiring, singing mostly after nightfall and before sunrise, during the morning twilight. When singing, it had the habit of rising into the air. I shot three one morning tlius singing, when it was so dark I could not find the birds. The one I obtained does not differ appreciably from specimens from ^Ir. Cassin's collection, labelled by him Peuccca cdssini, collected in Texas." Mr. Uidgway regards this record of the manners of this bird, while sing- ing, as indicating a specific difference from P. aestivalis. The latter, in Southern Illinois, has never been heard by him to sing at night, or in the morning, nor even on tlie wing ; but in broad midday, in the hottest days of June, July, and August, he often heard them singing vigorously and sweetly, as they perched upon a fence or a dead tree in a field, exactly after the man- ner of our common >S)??>//a j9?n<,'ed to this bird. It was i)la( ed in a low hush not ahove a foot fmni the ^Mnund, and in its construe- tion resenihled that of the I'oospizK Inlitieiita. The e«,'^'s were three in nuni- her, pure white, ('h)S(dy a<,n-eeing with those takei» hy Dr. Heerniann, and larger and more elon;4ated than those of the hi/imntn. An ej;^' of this si>eeies, taken in Texas by Dr. II. K. Storer, the identifica- tion of which, however, was incomplete, is more oWon<; than the e<,'gs of P. iLsticalis, and smaller, measuring .72 by .58 of an inch. It is i»ure white also. Feucsea ruficeps, Raird. BU70V8-CB0WNED 8PABB0W. Ammodromus rvficeps, Cas.sin, Pr. A. N. Sc. VI, Oct. 1852, 184 (California). — Ib. lUu.st. I, V, 1854, 135, pi. XX. Pcucied nijitvps. Haiku, Birds N. Aiu. 1858, 480. — Cooi-ku, Orn. Cal. I, 1870, 218. Sp. Char. Above bro\vnish-aj?liy. The crown and nape uniform browni.sh-chestnut, the interscapular region and neck with the feathers of this color, excei)t around the margins. A superciliary ashy stripe, whiter at the base of the bill. Beneath pale yellowish-brown, or brownish-yellow, darker and more ashy across the breast and on the sides of body ; middle of belly and chin lighter ; the latter with a well-marked line of black on each side. Edge of wing white. Under tail-coverts more rufous. Legs yellow. Length, 5.50 ; wing, 2.35 ; tail, 2.8."). Hab. Coast of California, to Mexico ; ? Oaxaca, March (Scl. 1859, 380) ; ? Vera Cruz, temperate region ; resident (Sum. M. B. S. I, 552). This plainly colored species has the bill rather slender ; tail rather long, and considerably rounded ; the outer feathers .40 of an inch shorter than the middle ; the feathers soft, and rounded at the tip. The wing is short ; the primaries not much longer than the tertials ; the second, third, fourth, and fifth nearly equal ; the first scarcely longer than the secondaries. There is a blackish tinge on the forehead, separated by a short central line of Miiite, as in SpizHJa socialis. The eyelids are whitish, and there is a short black line immediately over the upper lid. There is a faint chestnut streak back of the eye. The chestnut of the nape is somewhat inteiTupted by pale edgings. The blotches on the back melt almost insensibly into the colors of the margins of the feathers. The outer edges of the secondaries and tertials, and the outer surface of the tail, are yellowish-rusty. This bird is similar in general appearance to the P. cestivalis, but has the head above more continuous chestnut ; the black cheek-stripe more distinct, and the edge of wing whitish, not yellow, the bill more slender. A Mexican specimen has a stouter bill. The P. boiwardi of Sclater (= rvficeps, var. hovmrdi; see table, p. 634), from Mexico, is exceedingly similar, it being very difficult to present the differences 46 NORTH AMERICAN- BIRDS. in a diagnosis. This trouMe is partly the resnlt of the insufficient series at our coniniand, for there are such different condnnations of colors, according to the season, that it is almost impossible to select the avemge characters of two definable forms. Habits. This species was first described, in 1852, by Mr. Cassin, from a specimen obtained in California by Dr. Heermann. Very little is known as to its Idstory, and it appears to have been generally overlooked by natural- ists who have studied tlie ornithology of that State. The extent of its dis- tribution or of its inimbers remains unknown, — a circumstance due undoubt- edly to the nature of the country which it frequents. Dr. Heermann states that in the fall of ISol lie shot on the Cosumnes liiver a single specimen of this bird from among a large flock of Sparrows of various kinds. In the spring of the foUowing year, among the mountains, near the Calaveras Eiver, he found it (piite abundant. It was tlien flying in pairs, engaged in picking grass-seed from the ground, and when started it never extended its fliglit beyond a few yards. Its notes, in their character, reminded him of the ditty of our common little Chipping Sparrow {Spizella socicdis). He obtained several specimens. Its flight seemed feeble, and wdien raised from tlie ground, from which it would not start until almost trodden on, it would fly but a short distance, and almost immediately drop again into the grass. " Dr. Cooper has only met with this species on Catalina Island, in June, where a few kept about the low" bushes, feeding on the ground. They were very difficult even to get a siglit of. He heard them sing a few musical notes, that reminded him of tliose of the Cyanospizw. They flew only a short distance, and in their habits reminded him of the Mdoapiza'. Their favorite places of resort he suj^poses to be pine woods, as in the eastern species. The fact that this species has been found by Mr. Sumichrast to be a per- manent resident throughout all the temperate regions of Vera Cruz is a very interesting one, and is suggestive of diflerent manners and habits from those supposed to belong to it as a bird allied ^vitli the Ammodrami. They are abundant, and breed there, as in the United States, but nothing is given throwing any positive light upon their general habits. Gexus EMBERNAGRA, Lesson. Emhernagra, Lesson, Traite d'Ornith 1831 (Agassiz^. (Tyi>o, SaUator viridis, Vieillot.) Cen. Char. Bill conical, elongated, compressed ; the upper outline considerably curved, tlie lower straight; the commissure sHirhtJy concave, and faintly notched at the end. Tarsi lengthened; considerably longer than the middle toe. Outer toe a little longer than the inner, not reaching quite to the base of tlie middle claw. Hind toe about as long as the niisolete. Length, 5.50 ; wing, 2.G0 ; tail, 2.70. Hab. Valley of the Rio Grande, and prob- ably of Gila, southward ; Mazatlan, Mexico. Oaxaca, April (Scl. 1859, .380) ; Cordova ; Vera Cniz. tempeiate and hot regions, breed- ing (Sr.M. M. B. 8. I, 551) ; Yucatan (Lawr. IA, 201). £tnbemagra rujhirffatafhuyrr. In this species the bill is rather long ; the wings are very short, and much rounded ; the tertials equal to the primaries ; the secondaries rather sliorter ; the first quill is .60 of an inch shorter than the seventh, which is longest. The tail is short ; the lateral feathei*s nuich graduated ; the outer half an inch shorter than the middle. All the Mexican specimens before us have the bill stouter than those from the llio Grande of Texas, the stripes on the head apjiarently better defined. The back is darker olive ; the flanks brighter olive-green, not oliv^e- gray , the wings are apparently shorter. The series is not sufficiently perfect to show other differences, if any exist. Habits. In regard to the habits and distribution of this species we are entirely without any information, other than that it has been met with in the valley of the Rio Grande, and at various places in Mexico. Specimens were obtained at New Leon, Mexico, by Lieutenant Couch, and at Ringgold Bar- 48 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. racks, in Texas, l)y Mr. J. H. Clark. Tlie season wlien these birds were met with is not indicated by liini. It is stated by Mr. Suniichrast that this species is found throughout botli the temperate and the hot dis- tricts of the State of Vera Cruz, Me.xico. He also mentions that he has found this bird in localities quite remote from each other, and belong- ing both to the hot and to the tem- perate regions. In the latter it is found to the height of at least four thousand feet. w^. V ,,y/^ Boucard, during the winter months, at IMaza \icente, m the not low- lands of the State of Oaxaca, ^lexico. Subfamily FASSERELLIN^. Char. Toes and claws very stout ; the lateral claws reaching beyond the middle of the middle one; all very slightly mrved. Bill conical, the outlines straight ; ])otli mandibles equal ; wings long, longer than the even tail or slightly rounded, reaching nearly to the middle of its exposed portion. Hind claw longer than its digit ; the toe nearly as long as the middle toe ; tarsus longer than the middle toe. Brown above, either uniformly so or faintly streaked ; triangular spots be- low. This section embraces a Passereiia uiaca. single Xorth American genus, chiefly characterized ]»y the remarkable elon- gation of the lateral claws, as well as by the j)eculiar sha])e and large size of all the claws ; the lateral, especiidly, are so much lengthened as to extend nearly as far as the middle. The only a])proach to this, as far as I recollect, among Ignited States Conirostrcs, is in Fipilo mcgalonijx, and Xanthoce})lmlus icterocepkalus. FllIXGILLID.E — THE F1^X'1IES. 49 Genus PASSERELLA, Swainson. Passerclla, S\vain«on, Class. Birds, 11, Ibai, 268. (Type, Frinjilla i7uica,*MERREM.) Gen. Char. Body stout. Bill conical, not notched, the outlines straight; the two jaws of equal depth; roof ol'ujiper mandible deeply excavated, and vaulted; notknoltbed. Tarsus scarcely longer than the middle toe ; outer tci little longer than the inner, its claw reaciiing to the middle of the central one. Hind toe about equal to the inner lateral ; the claws all long, and moderately curved only ; the posterior rather longer than tlie middle, and equal to its toe. Wings long, pointed, reaching to the niiddle of the tail; the tertlals scarcely longer than secondaries; second and third quills longest; first equal to tiie fittli. Tail very nearly even, scarcely longer than the wing. Inner claw contained scarcely one and a half times in its toe proper. Color. Rufous or slai.y ; obsoletely streaked or uniform above; thickly spotted with triaxigular blotches beneath. Species and Varieties. Common Characters. Gr ">und-color above, slaty-ash, or sepia; wings, upper tail-coverts, and tail more rufescent. Beneath, pure white, with numerous triangular spots over breast and throat, streaks along sides, and a triangular Itlotch on side of throat, of the same color as the wings. The pectoral spots aggregated on the middle of the breast. A« Hind claw not longer than its digit. Back with broad streaks of dark rufous. 1. P. iliaca. Ground-color above ash (more or less overlaid in winter with a rutbus wash) ; wings, dorsal spots, u[>per tail-coverts, tail, auricu- lars, and markings of lower part.', bright reddish-rufous. Wing, 3.50 ; tail, 2.90 ; tarsus, .87 ; middle toe, without claw, .G7 ; hind claw, .35. Hah. Eastern Province of North America. B» Hind claw much longer than its digit. Back without streaks. 2. P. tow^nsendi. Head and neck above with ba<;k, scapulars, and rump, rich sepia- brown, almost uniform with wings and tail. Belly thickly spotted; tibiic deep brown ; supraloral space not whitish. Wing, 3.05 ; tail, 2.85 ; tarsus, .80 ; middle toe. .02 ; hind claw, .43. Hah, Pacific Provinee of North America, from Kodiak south to Fort Tejon. Cal. (in wintei) ........ var. townseudi. Head and neck above, with back, scapulars, and runq). slaty-ash. in strong contrast with the rufescent-brown of wings and tail. Belly with only mitmte specks, or immaculate ; tibite grayish ; supralor.ll space distinctly white. Spots beneath dove-brown. Bill, .34 from nostril, by .25 deep at base; wing. 3..'j0 ; tail, 3..50 ; tarsus, .^'j ; middle toe, .60 ; hind claw, .45. Hah. Mid- dle Provinct^ of United States . . . var. srh istaceu . Bill, .35 from nostril and .47 deep ; wing, 3.30 ; tail, 3.50 ; tarsus, .83 ; niiddle toe, .63 ; hind claw, .50. Hnh. Sierra Ne- vada, from Fort Tejon, north to Carson City, Nev. var. meyarhynchus. No great violence would be done })y considering all the ubove forms as races of one species, the characters separating iliaca from the rest being of VOL. II. 7 50 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. no great iTiij»ortance. However, in the large series examined, tlicrc is no specimen of ilkaa at all aberrant, and none approach in the sliglitest degree to any of the other forms. There can be no doubt whatever of the specific identity of the three forms presented under section " B," as is i)lainly shown 1)V specimens of intermediate characters. These western forms are parallels of the western race of Mclos2)iza ; schistacea representing M./alhw, mcfjarhjnchus the M. hccrmanni, and toionsendi the M. guttata or rujina. Fasserella iliaca, Swainson. FOX-COLOB£I> 8PABB0W. Fringilla iliaca, Mkkkkm. " H»-itr. zur In-sond. Gesch. tier Vofjel, II, 1786-87, 40, pi. x." — Gm. Syst. Nat. I, 1788, 923. — Aui>. Orn. Biog. II, 1834, 58 ; V, 512, pi. cviii. — In. Syn. 1839. — Ib. Birds Am. Ill, 1841, 139, pi. clxxxvi. Passerclla iliaca, Sw. Binls, II, 1837, 288. —Box. List. 1838. — Ib. Conspectus, 1850, 477. — Baird, Birds N. Am. 1S58, 488. — Dall & Baxmster, Tr. Ch. Ac. I, 1869, 285. — Samukls, 32.0. FrinijiUa nt/n, WiLsox, Am. Orn. Ill, 1811, 53, pi. xxiv, f. 4. — LicnT. Verz. 1823, No. 248. FriiKjilla fcrruginca, W1L8ON, Catalogue, VI, 1812. — Hall's ed. Wilson, 11, 255. '■'' Ember izii prate lis iSf ViEiLL.," Gkav. Sp. Char. General aspect of upper parts foxy-red, the |ti lliver. It has not heen asirertained to breed in any i»art of the United States, tlmu^h it may do so in Xortiieastern Maine. Mr. IJoardnian has not met with it near Calais, nor did I see nor could I hear of it in any i)art of Xova Scotia or New JJrunswick that I visited. In passing north, these birds begin their northern movements in the middle of March, and from that time to the last of Ajnil they are gradually approaching their summer quarters. Their tii-st ji])pearance near Boston is about the loth of March, and they linger in tiiat vicinity, or successive parties appear, until about the 20th of Ajnil. The last comei-s are usually in song. On their return, the middle or last of ()ctol)er, they i>ass rai)iilly, and usually make no stay. In Southwestern Texas these birds were not observed by Mr. Dresser, nor in Arizona by Dr. Cones, but in the Indian Territory Dr. Woodhouse found them very abundant on the ;ip]n'oach of winter. Dr. Coues speaks of them as common in South Caro- lina from November to April, but less numerous than most of the Sparnjws. In the vicinity of Washington this bird is found from October to April. I have met with small groups of them through all the winter months among the iallen leaves in retired corners of the Capitol grounds, where they were busily engaged, in the manner of a Fipilo, in scratching in the earth for their food. At those ]yeriods when the ground was open, their habits were eminently similar to those of the gallinaceous birds. In March and April they were in ct)mpany with the Wliite-throated Sparrows, but passed north at least a month earlier. beconiin;:^ hrifflit rufous on the nimp and exposed portion of the tail, but a shade darker than in P. ilidoi ; head uniform brown, with a sli^lit tinge of ash ; featliers of the back ix'ntred with a streak of darker brown. Wings nearly the same color as the back, with no white bands ; outer webs of the riglit rufous, and the (.'entral part of the throat is nearly free from spots ; the under tail-coverts are brownish-white, with mfous spots, instead of nearly jiure white." There are some features in this bird, as described by Mr. Verrill, which seem to characterize it as ditferent from P. ilinoi, although it is barely possible that it is this T'ird in immature dres:.. The streaked back at once sejjarates it from all our si>ecies excepting ilhtca. Xothi.i'C is said of its ha})its. One specimen was killed in Anticosti, July 1 ; the other, Au.^nist S. The true iliaca was found on the island, which fact rentiers it still more probable that this is its young. 52 NOUTIl AAIEIUCAX BlliDS. During their stay in the United States these birds keep in small distinctive flocks, never mingling, tlumgh often in the same places, with other species. They are found in tlie edges of tliickets and in moist woods. They are usu- ally silent, and only occasionally utter a call-note, low and soft. In the spring the male l)ecomes (piite musical, and is one of our sweetest and most remarkable singers. His voice is loud, clear, and melodious ; his notes full, rich, and varied ; and his song is unequalled by any of this family that I have ever heard. They soon become reconciled to continement and ipiite tame, and sing a good part of the year if care is taken in regard to tl.'eir food. If allowed to eat to excess, they become very fat and heavy, and lose their song. Dr. Coues did not meet with these birds in Labrador, but Mr. Audubon found them there and in Newfoundland in large numbers ; and, according to the observations of Sir John Kichardsou, they breed in the wooded dis- tricts of the fur countries, up to the 68th parallel of latitude. These birds were also found abundantly at Fort Simpson and Great Slave Lake by Mr. liobert Kennicott and Mr. B. li. Ross ; at Fort Anderson, An- derson liiver, Swan IJiver, and in various journeys, by Mr. II. MacFarlaue ; at Fort Resolution, Fort Good Hope, La Pierre House, and Fort Yukon, by Mr. Lockhart ; at Peel's River, by Mr. J. Flett ; at St. Michael's, by Mr. H. M. Bannister ; and at Nulato, by Mr. W. H. i)all. They were observed at Fort Simpson as early as May 17, and by ^Ir. Kennicott as late as September 17. Mr. Dall states that at Nulato he founoth Mr. MacFarlane and Mr. Kennicott, the nest of this species was found both on the ground and in trees. In one instance it was in a tree about eight feet from the ground, and in its structure was said to be similar to the nests of Tifrdvs alicicr. They w^ere nearly all found after the middle of June, a few as early as the 7th. One was found on the ground at the foot of a tuft of dwarf wilh>ws, which lieli)ed to conceal it from view. This w^as composed of coarse hay, lined with some of a finer quality, a few deer-hairs, and a small quantity of fresh and growing moss, intermingled together. In speohing of this nest Mr. Mac- Farlane states that all the nests of this S})arrow he had previously met with had been built in the midst of branches of pine or spruce trees, and had been similar to those of the T. alicice, which, in this instance, it did not resemble. He adds that this species, though not numerous, extended quite to the borders of the wooded country, to the north and northwest of FlUXr.ILUD.E— THE FINCIIl'X 53 Fort Aiulorsoii. Afterwaitls lie ol»servi'(l several ntlier nests on the j^touikI, all of which were similar to tlie last, and it is by no means inipossilyle that in ei-rtain instances these birds may have occu])ie(l old nests of the T. ah'ria, and used them for ])ur})Oses of incubation. Richardson states that its nests are constructed in a low bush, and are made of dry grass, hair, and feathers. He states that the eggs are five in number, of a pale mountain- green tint, and marbled with irregular spots of brown. ^Ir. Audul)on, who found several of the nests of this bird in T^'ibrador, near the coast, describes them as large for the size of the bird, and as usually placed on the ground among moss or tall grass near the stem of a creeping fir, the bi-anches of which usually conceal it from view. Its exterior is loosely formed of dry grasses and moss, with a carefully disj)osed inner layer of fine grasses, circularly arranged. The lining consists of very delic-ate fibrous roots, with feathers of ditlerent kinds of water-fowl. In one instance he noted the down of the eider-duck. He found their eggs from the middle of June to the 5th of July. When their nest was approached, the female affected lameness, and employed all the usual arts to decoy the intruder away. They raised but one brood in a season, and about the first of Septem- ber left Labrador for the south in small flocks, made up of members of one family. Their eggs measure from .92 to an inch in length, and .70 in breadth. They are oblong in shape. Their ground-color is a light bluish-wiiite, thickly spotted with a rusty-brown, often so fully as to conceal the ground. Fasserella townsendi, Xuttall. TCyWHSEKD'fe BPABBOW. t Embcriza unnhischkcnsis, Gmel. II, 1788, 875 (bN. Conspectus, 1850, 477. — Baicd, Birds X. Am. 1858, 489. —Cooper & Suckley, 204. — Dall & Bannisteh, Tr. Cli. Ac. I, 1869, 285. Friitgilla mcruhideji, Vic;. Zoul. Blossom (Monterey, Cal.), 1839, 19. ? Emhcriza {Zonotrichia) rnfina, Kini.iTZ, Denkw. 1858, 200. (He compares it xnth P. iliaca, but says it is darker. Sitka.) Sp. Char. Above very dark olive-brown, witli a tiiiiro of riituus, the color continuous and uniform throuirhout, without any trace of blotches or spots; the uj)j>er tail-coverts and outer edges of the wing and tail feathers rather lighter and brighter. The under parts white, but thickly covered with approximating triangular blotches colored like the back, sparsest on the middle of the body and on the throat; the spots on the belly smaller. Side almost continuously like the back; tibiie and under tail-coverts similar, the latter edged with paler. Axillars brown; paler on edges. Claws all very large and long; the hinder claw longer than its toe. First and sixth quills about equal. Length, about 7 inches; wing, about 3.00. >. 54 NORTH AMEKICAN IJIRDS. PUssereUa totcnxendi. Had. Pacific coast of United StaWs, as far soiith as Sacramento, and Fort Ttjon ? north to Kodiak (and Fnalasciika ?). This species ditters a i^ood deal in form ii-om P. iliarn. Tlio claws are much laij'er and stouter, the win«; a |j:ood deal slioiter and more rounded. The ditlerences in color are very appreciable, the tints Ijeing dark sepia -brown instead of red, and perfectly uniform above, not spotted ; the under parts much more tliickly spotted. Specimens from Alaska show a tendency to lont^er and perhaps more slender bills. Some are rather more rufous-brown than the type ; others have a faint tinge of ashy anteriorly, althougli scarcely ap- preciable. This is especially noticeable in some skins from Fort Tejon, they being almost exactly intermediate Ijetween toicnscndi and schist area, or mcfjarhyncliHs. Young l>irds are not materially different from the adult, except in having the white of under parts replaced by pale rusty ; the back is rather duller in color, but without spots or stripes of any kind. No. 46,620 from British Columbia has the bill much stouter than in the average. It is by no means certain, however probable, that this bird is the E. una- laschkciisis of Gmelin, an important objection being its a])sence so far in collections received by tiie Smithsonian Institution from that island. We therefore leave the question open for the present. Habits. The history of this western analogue of the Fox-colored Spar- row is still quite imperfectly known. It was first obtained in Oregon by Mr. Townsend, on the loth of February. He describes it as a verv active and a very shy bird, keeping constantly among the low bushes of worm- wood, and on tlie ground in tlieir vicinity. It was partially gregarious, six or eight being usually seen together. Its call-note was a short, sharp, quick chirp, and it also had occasionally a low weak warble. Dr. Ganibel, referring probably to its occurrence in winter in California, speaks of this bird as an abundant resident in that State, wliicli is not cor- re?t, it being only a winter visitant, and not abundant south of San Francisco. He describes its habits as very different from those of any other Sparrow, and more like those of a Thrush. It is said to keep in retired busliy places, or in underwood, and was scarcely ever seen except on the ground, and then would scarcely ever be discovered but for the noise it made in scratching among the leaves. It was silent and unsuspicious, and he rarely heard it utter even its occasional chirp. FrJX(JlLLlD.E — THE FLNX'IIES. •J J Vv. Cooper states tliat liu tVmiul tliis SpaiTuw only a wiiiti-r resident in WasliinL,'ton Territory, wlien^ in coiupimy with other Spiirrows, it kept eon- stantly on the ground, Iretpienting the thickets and scrateiiing among tlie fallen leaves lor its food. It was most common in the interior, hut in very cold weather sought the coast, in company with the Snowbird and other sp(;cies. Pie observed a few lingering abcnit the Straits of Fuca until A])ril. After that he saw no mon^ of them until their return S(juthward in (Jctober. During tlieir winter residence Dr. ('(joper never heard them sing. Dr. Suck- lev found them rather abundant near Fort Steilacoijm, tluaigh not so coninntn as the Mi/usi>ha mjina, which they greatly resembled in habits and in gen- eral a})]>ein'ance. Dr. Heermann describes them as abundant and niigi'atory in California, visiting that State only in winter. He sj)eaks of them as of a solitary and (piiet nature, resorting to the thickets antl underwood for its food, turning over the leaves and scratching up the ground in the manner of the JJrown Thrush, occasionally hopping backwards as if to ascertain the results of its labors. Dr. Cooper, in his Keport on the Birds of ('alifomia, reaffirms that this bird is only a winter visitant to the lower country near the Columbia, but also conjectures that it spends the sunnner in the Cascade Mountains, be- tween Ai)ril and October. Specimens have been obtained near San Fran- cisco in winter. It seemed to him to Ixi both a shy and a silent bird, fre- quenting only woods or thick bushes, and while there constantly scratching among the fallen leaves, and feeding both on seeds and insects. He has seen either this bird or the P. mcyarhi/nchus as far south as San Diego in winter. He has also noticed its arrival near San Francisco as early as Octo- ber 20. On the Spokan Plains, in Briti.sh Columbia, Mr. J. K. Lord first met with this species. They were there not uncommon in dark swampy places east of the Cascades. These birds he found remarkable for their singular habit of scratching dead leaves or decayed material of any sort with their feet, exactly as do barn-door fowls, — sending the dirt right, left, and behind. It picks up seeds, insects, larva', or anything eatable that it thus digs out, and then proceeds to scratch for more. Tiie long and unusuall}' strong claws with which this bird is ])rovided seem particularly well adapted for these habits, so unusual in a Sparrow. At almost any time, by w^aiting a few moments, one may be pretty sure to hear the scratching of several of these birds from under the tangle of fallen timber. Seveml specimens were obtained in Sitka by Bischoff and others, but without any record of their habits. 5G Xor.TII AMKIUCAX niRDS. tl331 3 Passerella townsendi, var. schistacea, r>AiKD. Pdnsercl/ii sdiisftiiai, Uaiki*, lUnls X. Am. IboS, 490, j»l. Ixix, f. 3. Sp. CiiAK. Bill slrtidcT, the k'ligth boin;; ..*>4 from nostril, the depth .25 ; the nppor iiiainli!»le much swolUn at the biu*e ; the under yellow. Above and on the siiles uniform slate- ^'ray ; the upper surface of wind's, tail-feather.", ;f^ \\ -- mu '""^ upper eove"t.-i dark l)rownish-ruf()Us ; ear- ~^ \ -V ^ ^ coverts streaked with white. JJencath pur*; whit«', with Inroad trian^nilar arrow-sliaped and well-dethied spots of slate-jjrjiy like the back everywhere, exeept alonjj: the middle of the belly ; not numerous on the throat. A hoary spot at the bajiO of tlu; bill al»ove the loral re«jion ; axillars nearly white. Len^'th, 0.80; vintr.-i.oO; tail, .'i..>0. Hah. TTead-waters of Platte and middle re^'ion of United ^States to Fort Tejon and to Fort Crook, California. This s])eeies is readily ilistiiigiiislKMl from P. iVmca by the slaty back and spots oil the breast, the al)seiice of streaks above, and the longer claws. From fnicnseui/i it difl'ers in having the Jiead, bai.'k, sides, and sj)ots beneath slate- colored, instead of dark reddish-brown. Tlie spotting beneath is much more spai"se, the spots smaller, more triangular, and confined to the terminal portion of the feathers, instead of frequently involving the entire outer edge. The axillars are paler. Tlie wings and tail arc the same in botli species. The young bird is quite similar; but tlie S])ots l)eneath are badly defined, more numerous, and longitudinal ratlier than trianguhir. There can be little doubt, however, that this bird is a geographical race of P. tou'iiseudi. Habits. For all tliat we know in regard to the habits and general distri- bution of this species, we are indebted to the observations of Mr. Kidgway, who met with it while accompanying ^Ir. Clarence King's geological survey. It was first obtained in July, 1850, })y Lieutenant F. T. Bryan, on tlie Platte Eiver, and others were atlerwards collected at Fort Tejon by Mr. Xantus. Mr. Itidgway found the Slate-colored Sparrow at Carson City, during its spring migrations northward, in the early part of March. At this time it was seen only among the willow^s along the Carson Ifiver, and was by no means common. It liad the habit of scratcliing among the dead leaves, on the ground in the thickets, precisely after the manner of the eastern P. iliaca. In the following September he again found it among the thickets in the Upper Humboldt Valley. In Parley's Park, among tlie Wahsatch Moun- tains, he found it a very plentiful species in June, nesting among the wil- lows and other shrubbery alon*.; the streams. There it was always found in company with the M. faUa:i\ which in song it greatly resembles, though its other notes are quite distinct, the ordinary one being a sharp chuck. The FI'JXCir.LID.K — THE FIXCirKS. 57 nest of Uie two s])Ocie.s, 1h» juMs, wltc also so inucli alike in inainuT of ecui- striR-tion and situation, and the t'>;j,'.s so similar, tliat it rei|uireil a careful observation to identilv a nest when one was found. Tlie egj^'S from one nest of tlie J\issrtr//t/ schi^tairn measure .IM) by .70 of r,n inch, have a j^round of a li^dit mountain-«,'ree!i, and are profusely spotted with blotches of a rufous-brown, generally diffused over the entire e«;g. Another nest of this spt^cies, obtained in Parley's Park, iii the Wahsatch Mountains, by Mr. Iiidgway, June li.'l, 18(>l>, was built in a clump of willows, about two feet from the grounil. The nest is two inches in heij^lit, two and a lialf in diameter, cavity one and a half deep, with a diameter of two. It is composed externally of coarse decayed water-j^rass, is lined with fine hair and tiner material like the outside. The egj^'s, four in number, are .Hi) by .07 of an inch, of a very roiindetl oval shape, the ground-color of a pale green, blotched and marked chietly at the larger end with brown spots of a wine- colored hue. Passerella townsendi, var. mega)rhynclius, Baird. THICK-BILIEB SPABBOW. Passcrrlhi schistuceo^ lUiKP, Birds N. Am. 1858, p. 490 (in part ; Ft. Tojon sj)ecimcns). Per met with several individuals of this hird towards the snmniits of the Sierra Nevada, in September, IM'.\, hut was unahle to j)reserve any of them. So far as he was ahle to observe them, they had no song, and their habits were "jenerallv similar to those of the J\ totnt.siKili. The Thiek-billed Sparrow was found by Mr. Kidi^way as a very common bird among the alder swamps in the ravines of the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada duiing the summer. Near Carson City, A])ril lio, in a swampy thicket near the streams in the level slo|)es, he heard, for the first time, its l)eautiful sung, and killed a sj>eeimen in the midst of its utterance of what, he adds, was one of the most exipiisitely rich utterances he ever heard. This song, he states, lesembles, in richness and volume, that of thi* Louisi- .ina Water Thrush (Scu/rns ImlorUunuis), (pialities in which that bird is hardly ecpialled by any othe: \orth American bird. They were singing in fill parts of that swampy thicket, and up the ravines as far as the snow. From the nature of the ]>lace and the character of their song, they were at first supi>osed to be the Water Thrush, until specimens of these ex- quisite songsters were secured. He regards this bird as second to none of our singers Indonging to this family, and though in variety, sprightliness, and continuity, and also in passionate emotional character, its song is not equal to that of the (liouuesttn f/ramman/, yet it is far superior in power and richness of tone. Mr. Ifidgway regards this l»ird as easily distinguishable from the P. schistwea, of which, however, it is only a variety. There is a total discrepancy in its notes, and while neither species is resident in the latitude of Carson City, through which both kinds ])ass in their migrations, the P. srh i.'itacca lingers in the spring only a short time, soon passing to the northward, while the P. inKinrhiinchHs arrives later and reujains ihrough the summer. The former nr.ikes its tempomry al)ode among the willows along the river, while the latter breeds in the shrubbery of the mountain ravines. Subfamily SFIZINJE. Char. Bill variable, always larcre, much arrlied. an«l with tli»^ ciilmon considerably curved : sometimes of enormous size, and with a irreater development backward of the lower jaw, which is always appreciably, sometimes considerably, broader behind than the upper jaw at its base : nostrils exposed. Tail rather variable. Bill prcnerally lilaok, licrht blue, or red. Winers shorter than in the first ^rronp. Gape almost always much more stron^dy bristled. Few of the species sparrou'-like or plain in their appearance; usually blue, red, or black and white ; except in one or two instances the sexes very different in color. FKINfilLLlD.K — THE ^I^'CI1K8. r,o The ivrt'CtMiin;,' (lia;,'iiosis is iiittMitled to (Mubnuo the hri^^litly c«)l(jretl jmsseriiiu l»inls of North Amnic a, dilli ivut in •^'riicnil uiUMnirunce fnnu the coiiiinon Sparrows. It is dillitult to (h-aw the line with |»ertect strictness, so us to separate tlie speeies from tliost* of tlie preceding,' group, but the hill is always more curNetl, as well as lar;j:er, and the eoh»rs are hri«,diter. They re- seinlde ijuite closely, at a sujierticial ;^dance, the Carrot hniustina, but may be readilv distinguished by absence of tlie projecting tufts surrounding the base of the upi»er mandible, shorter, more rounded wings, and longer tarsi. The genera may be most conveniently arranged as follows: — A. Winjrs decidiMlly linger than tlu* tail. Ejrjr« plain l>liie or white, unspotted. a. Feet very .*ehiiid it; aiiferioily nearly striii^dit; oojuniissure of lower niandil)le with a prominent an<:le. Outer toe lonp'r than the inner, l>oth nearly {i.«i long as the posterior. Outer four primaries ahout (M|ual, and ahruptly longer than the rest. Tertials nearly equal to primaries. Tail-feathers hro.id at tips. Color: hlack with white spot on wing in ^, brownish streaks in 9- Nest on or near ground j eggs plain pale blue. Euapiza. Bill weaker, the commiss\ire with a more shallow angle, and much less prominent sinuation behind it ; anteriorly distinctly sinuated. Outer toe shorter than inner, both much shorter than the posterior one. First j>rimary longest, the rest successively shorter. Tertials but little longer than secondaries. Tail-leathers atN-miated at tip<. Color: back brown streaked with black ; throat white ; jugulum yellow or ashy ; with or with()ut black spot on fore neck. A yellow or white superciliary stripe. Xest on or near ground ; v^igs. plain pale blue. b. Feet weaker, scarcely reachmg beyond lower tail-coverts ; species arbo- real. a. Size large (iring more than 3.50 inches). Hedymeles. I'pper mandible much swollen laterally. Colors : no blue; uj)pcr parts conspicuously dinenrnt from the lower. Wings and tail with white patches ; axillars and lining of wing yellow or red. FVmale streaked. Nest in a tree or bush ; eggs greenish, thickly spotted. Giiiraca. T'pper mandible flat laterally. Colors: ^ deep blue, with two rufous ])ands on wings ; no white patches on wings or tail ; axillars and lining of wing blue; 9 olive-brown without streaks. Nest in a bush; eggs plain bhiish-white. - b. Size very siuuU (iring kss than 3.00 inches). C> "^iiospiza. Similar in form to Guiraca. but culmen more curved, mandible more shallow, the angle and sinuations of the commissure less conspicuous. Color: ^ more or less blue, without any bands on wing (except in C. amcena in which they are whit*-) ; 9 olive-brown. Nert in a bush ; eggs plain bluish-white (except in C. ciris, in which they have reddish spots). B. Wing and tail about equal. The smallest of American Conirostres. Nest in bushes. Eggs white, spotted. j 00 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. Spermophila. Bill \ery short and broad, scarcely lonpror than hif^h, not coniprt'ssod ; culnion gn-atly curvtMl. l\)K)r: i-liiclly l)lack and ■\vlnt«', or hrown and irray. Phonipara. Bill more trianj^'ular, decidedly lon<;er than deep, nnio'> conipressetl ; eulnien only slij^ditly »'in'ved, or perlectly straij.dit. Color.v. dull olive-green ;uul blackish, with or without yellow about the head. C Wing much shorter than the tail. a Head crested. Prevailing color red. Bill red or whitish. Pyrrhuloxia. Bill pyrrhuline, very short, and with the culmen greatly convex; shorter than high. Hind claw less than it»< digit; not much larger than the middle anterior one. Tarsus eciual to the middle toe. Nest in bush or low tree ; eggs white, spotted with lilac and olive. Cardinalis. Bill coccothranstine, very large ; culmen very slightly convex. Wings more rounded. Feet as in the last, except that the tarsus is longer than the middle toe. Nest in bush or low tree ; eggs white, spotted with lilac and olive. b. Head not crested. Colors black, brown, or olive, without red. Bill dusky, or bluish. Pipilo. Bill moderate ; culmen and commissure curved. Hind claw very large and strong; longer than its digit. Tarsjis less than the middle toe. Nest on ground or in low bush; eggs white sprinkled with red, or pale blue with black dots and lines round larger end. Genlvs CALAMOSPIZA, Boxap. Calamospha, F^oXAP. List, 1S38. (Type, FrimjiUa l-k'olut\ ToWN.-s.) CorydiiUna, AinuBoN, Synopsis, lS3t>. (Same type.) Of:v. Cn.vR. Bill rather largo, mufh swollen at the base; the culmen broad, gently but decidedly curved; the gonys nearly straight ; the connnissure nnich angulated near the base, then slightly sinuatcd; lower mandil>le nearh" as deep as the upper, the margins much inflected, and shut- ting under the upper mandible. Nostrils small, strictly basal. Rictus quite rtiflly bi istly. Legs large and stout. Tarsi a little longer than the middle toe : outer toe rather longer than the inner, and reaching to the concealed base of the mid- dle claw ; hind toe reaching to the base of the middle claw ; hind claw Cnlumospiza bicolor. about as long as its toe. Claws all strong, compressed, and consideraMy curved. Wings long and pointed; the first four nearly e(|Mal. and abruptly longest; the tertials much elongated, as long as the primaries. Tail a little shorter than the wings, slightly gradu- ated ; the feathers rather narrow and oblicpiely oval, rounded at the end. Color. JA/Ze, black, with white on the wings. Femak, brown aI,ove, beneath white, with streaks. FRIXGILLID.E — THE FLNCIIES. ni This <;enus is well cliaractc'rizeil l>y the large swollen bill, with its curved culiiieu ; tiie huge strung feet and claws; the long wings, a little huiger than the tail, and with the ter- tiids as long as tlie primaries ; the first tour«|uills aliout eijual, and aliriii)tly longest; the tail short and graduated. The only grou]) of North American Spizcllina-, with the tertials ei^ual to the i)rimaries in tlie closed wing, is Passe re alas. Til is, however, has a dift'erently formed bill, weaker feet, the caiamosp,za buoior. inner i)rimaries longer and UKU-e regularly graduated, the tail-feathers more acute and shorter, and the plumage streaked brownish and white instead of black. Calamospiza bicolor, Bonap. LABK BUNTIHO; WHITE-WINGED BLACKBIBO. FrhujiUa bicolor, T(.\vnseni», J. A. N. Sc. Ph. VII, 1837, 189. — Ir. Narrative, 1839, 346. — Aui). Orn. Biog. V, 1839, 19, \\. icf.xe. Cdhmtoapiza bicolor, lJt>NAP. List, 1838. — In. Con.sj)eetus, 18.50, 47.5. — Baiud, Binls N. Am. 1858, 49i>. — Hep:um. X, o, 1.5. tU>r)idnUna bicolor, All). Synopsis, 1839, 130. — In. Birds Am. Ill, 1841, 195, pi. cci. — Max. Cab. J. VI, 1858, 347. — Coopek, Orn. Cal. I, 225. Dolkhonyz bicolor, NUTTALL, Manual, I, (2d ed.,) 1840, 203. Sp. CifAR. Male entirt'iy black; a Inroad band on the wing (covorinc^ the whole of the greater covert'?), with the outer edges of the quills and tail-fcatliers, white. Length, about G.50; wing, 3.50; tail, 3.20; tarsus, 1.00; bill al>ove, .60. Female pale brown, streaked with darker above; l)cneath white, spotted and streaked rather sparsely with black on the breast and sides. Throat nearly innnaculate. A maxillary stripe of black, bordered above by white. Region around the eye, a faint stripe above it. and an obsciu'e crescent back of the ear-coverts, whitish. A broad fulvous white band across the ends of the greater wing-cov«Tts; i.'<\iio of wing white. Tail- feathers with a white sj)ot at the end of the inner web. Youtig. Similar to the female; a faint bull' tinge prevalent beneath, where the streaks are narrower; dark streaks al)ove broader, the featluMs liurdi'red with bully-white. Had. High Central Plains to the Kocky Mountains; southwesterly to Valley of Mimbres and Sonora: San Antonio, Texas, winter (Dkksskr, II>is, ISO"), 4!>0). Fort Whipple, Arizona (Corns, P. A. N. S. ISGG, 84). Parley's Park, Utah (Uidgway). Habits. Tliis peculiar s])eeies, known by some writers as the Lark P>unt- ing:, and by others as the White-win^^ed lilackbird, was first described by Townsend in 18:^7. He met with it wlien, in com]>any witli Mr. Nuttall, he made his western tour across the continent, on tlie 24th of ^lay, soon after crossing the north branch of the Platte River. The latter writer rcijarded it 62 NUKTII AMERIC^VN BIRDS. as closely allied to the Bobolink, and described it as a Dolichonyx. He describes the birds as gregarious, consorting with the Cowbirds, and, at the time he met with them, uttering most delightful songs. Towards evening they sometimes saw these lards in all directions around them, on the hilly gi'ounds, rising at intervals to some height, hovering and tlai)i)ing their wings, and, at the same tiLie, giving forth a song wliicli Mr. Nuttall describes as being something like urcf-irect-ivt-wt-ivt, notes that were between the hurried warble of the Bobolink and the melody of a Skylark. It is, he ^nys, one of tlie sweetest soiigstei-s of th.e prairies, is tame and unsuspicious, and the whole employment of the little band seemed to be an ardent emulation ot SOUL'. It feeds on the ground, and, as stated by Mr. Townsend, may be seen in flocks 'om sixty to a hundreil touether. It was, so far as tlieir observa- tions wei. , nd inhabiting exclusively the wide grassy plains of the Platte. They did not see it to the w^est of the Black Hills, or the iii-st range of the liockv Mountains. To Mr. Xuttall's account Mr. Townsend adds that this bird is strictly gre- garious, that it feeds on the ground, around which it runs in the manner of the Grass Finch, to wliich, in its habits, it seems to be somewhat allied. Mr. Townsend adds that, as their caravan moved along, large flocks of these birds, sometimes to the number of sixty or a hundred individuals, were started from the ground, and the piebaid appearance of the males and females pro- miscuously intermingled presented a very striking and by no means unpleas- ing eftect. While the flock was engaged in feeding, some of the males were observed to rise suddenly to considerable height in the air, and, poising themselves over their companions with their wings in constant and rapid motion, continued nearly stationary. In this situation they poured forth a number of very lively and sweetly modulated notes, and, at the expiration of about a minute, descended to the ground and moved about as before. Mr. Townsend also states that he met with none of these birds west of the Black Hills. ^Ir. Iiidgway also mentions that though he found these birds very abun- dant on the plains east of the P^ ck Hills, he met with only a single speci- men to the westward of that range. This was at Parley's Park, among the Wahsatch IMountains. Dr. Gambel, in his paper on the Birds of California, states that he met with small flocks of this handsome sj^ecies in the bushy plains, and along the marsjjins of streams, durini«- the winter months. And Dr. Heermann states that he also found tlii>: species numerous in California, Xew ^lexico, and Texas. Arriving in the last-named State in May, he found this species there already mated, and about to commence the duties of incubation. Mr. Dresser found these birds common near San Antonio during the win- ter. In December he noticed several flocks near Eagle Pass. They frequented the roads, seeking the horse-dung. They were (^uite shy, and when disturbed FRINGILLID.E — THE FINCHES. 03 the wlK)le flock would g«) off together, uttering a low and melodious whistle. In May and June several were still about near Howard's llaneho, and on his return from Houston, in June, he succeeded in shcoting one in its full sum- mer plumage, when its specific name is peculiarly approi)riate. He does not, however, think that, as a general tiling, any of them remain about San An- tonio to breed. They breed in great numbers on the plains of Wyoming Territory, an