iS) * stchea ¥ VEY M a KK Wee mute RUA Ss TONG aah Ai mY ie ¥. , Ak ATE ne A RCA, Hy iM) yy Man Ce) wey shy tem) ere wh ‘ +h +H ‘ vil EN wey CENTRAL CIRCULATION AND BOOKSTACKS The person borrowing this material is responsible for its renewal or return before the Latest Date stamped below. You may be charged a minimum fee of $75.00 for each non-returned or lost item. Theft, mutilation, or defacement of library materials can be causes for student disciplinary action. All materials owned by the University of Illinois Library are the property of the State of Illinois and are protected by Article 16B of Illinois Criminal Law and Procedure. TO RENEW, CALL (217) 333-8400. University of Illinois Library at Urbana-Champaign When renewing by phone, write new due date below previous due date. L162 FRINGILLIDH—THE FINCHES, 233 Acanthis linaria (Linn.) REDPOLL. Popular synonyms. Common Redpoll; Dusky Redpoll; Snowbird; Redpoll Linnet. Fringilla linaria Linn, 8. N. ed, 10, i, 1758, 182; ed. 12, i, 1766, 322.—Wis. Am. Orn. iv, 1811, 41, pl. 30, fig. 4; ix, 1814, 126.—NurTrT. Man. i, 1882, 512—Aupb. Orn. Biog. iv, 1888, 528, pl. 375. giothus linaria Cas. Mus. Hein. 1851, 161.—Barrp, B. N. Am. 1858, 428; Cat. N. Am. B. 1859, No. 320.—Covgs, Key, 1872, 130; Check List, 1873, No. 146; 2d ed. 1882, No. 207; B. N. W. 1874, 114.—B. B. & R. Hist. N. Am. B. i, 1874, 493, pl. 22, figs. 3, 5.—Ripew. Nom. N. Am. B. 1881, No. 179. Acanthis linaria Bon. & Scuu. Monog. Lox. 1850, pl. 52. Linaria minor Sw. & Ricu. F. B. A. ii, 1831, 267 —Aup. Synop. 1839, 114; B. Am. iii, 1841, 122, pl. 179. igiothus fuscescens Couss, Proce. Phil. Ac. 1861, 222. Byiothus linaria var. fuscescens COuUES, Key, 1872, 131. Has. Northern North America, (except Greenland) south, in winter, to about lat. 40° (occasionally farther); breeds chiefly, if not entirely, north of the United States. Inhabits, also, northern portions of the Old World. ‘ Sp. CHAR. Adults in spring and winter. Ground color of the occiput, nape, seapulars, and interscapulars, brownish white, each feather with medial streak of dusky brown; rump and upper tail-coverts white, with the streaks in sharper contrast. Wings clear brownish dusky, with two conspicuous white bands, formed by tips of middle and second- ary coverts; tertials broadly, and secondaries narrowly, edged with white,—this broader oninner webs. A narrow frontal band (tinged with brownish), an obscure superciliary stripe, and the lower parts in general, white; sides streaked with dusky, and lower tail- eoverts each with a medial streak of the same. On the forehead and vertex a somewhat quadrate patch of intense carmine. Nasal plumules, lores, and a small, somewhat quad- rate, gular spot, dark silky brown. Bill yellow, the culmen and gonys black. Male. Throat, jugulum, and breast, rosy carmine (extending upward over the malar region, and backward over the sides almost to the flanks); ramp tinged with the same. Female. No red except on the crown, where its tint is less intense; dusky gular spot larger, extending farther on to the throat. Adult in breeding (midsummer) plumage (="4?2. fuscescens” CouEs). The pattern the same as above, but the dark tint intensified and spread so as to almost entirely obliterate any lighter markings, except the streaks on the rump; the wing-bands, as well as the dorsal streaks, obsolete; streaks on the sides broader; frontal band dusky, like the occiput. Red tints slightly intensified. Bill wholly dusky. Male. Throat, jugulum, breast, and tinge on sides and rump, rosy carmine. Female. Without red on the breast. Young, first pluma-e. Whole head, neck,and breast streaked, and without trace of red. Dimensions. Male. Wing, 2.80; tail, 2.80-2.35: Dill, .35-.36X.20.-25; tarsus, .53-.55; middle toe, .30-.33. Female. Wing, 2.70-2.80; tail, 2.30-2.35; bill, .#2-.35x.23-25; tarsus, .52-.55; middle toe, .32-.34. The plumage of this species is quite different m summer and in winter. In the latter season the plumage is softer and more lax, and the markings better defined, though in autumn with a consid- _erable ochraceous suffusion. In spring the colors are purer, and the 934. .°. BIRDS_.OF- ILLINOIS. markings more sharply defined; in the breeding season the plumage assumes a burnt appearance, the dark tmts intensify and spread, so that sometimes the upper parts appear almost uniformly dusky ; the bill appears large¥ than in winter, in consequence of the less development, or wearing away, of its basal tufts. In this dusky summer condition it becomes the Av. fuscescens of Coues. In the series of over two hundred examples examined, all midsummer specimens are in the plumage of fuscescens, while the latter is not seen in any autumnal, winter, or spring birds. _ This pretty little bird is a common and regular winter visitor in the northern portions of the State, but its occurrence in the south- erm portions is so rare that the writer has seen it but on one oc- casion at Mount Carmel. It appears in flocks, which feed upon the seeds of various herbaceous plants, and is very unsuspicious. Its breeding range includes the whole region from Labrador to Alaska, with an undetermined southern limit, which, however, prob- ably nowhere approaches very near to the northern boundary of the United States. According to Dr. Brewer, “their migration southward in winter is evidently caused more by want of food than by the state of the temperature. They remain in high northern regions in the most inclement weather, and often appear among us in seasons not re- markably cold, and remain until late in the spring.” Acanthis linaria rostrata (Coues). GREATER REDPOLL. Popular synonym, Greenland Dusky Redpoll. Aigiothus rostratus Cours, Proce. Phil. Ac. 1861, 378. Acanthis linaria rostrata STEINEGER, Auk, i, 1884, 153. Byiothus linarius, var. holbolli B. B. & R. Hist. N. Am. B. i, 1874, 493 (part), igiothus linaria holbélli Ripaw. Nom. Am. B. 1881, No. 179 a. Aigiothus linaria holboelli Brewst. Bull. N. O. C. 1883, 95 (critical). Linaria brunnesdens VON HoMEYER, J. f. O. 1879, 184 (part?). Cuar. Similar to A linaria (vera) in plumage (usually, however, more heavily streaked on the sides, etce.), but all the dimensions decidedly greater. Wing, 3.00-3.30; tail, 2.60-2.70; culmen, .41-.47; depth of bill at base, .25-.30; tarsus, .65-.70; middle toe, ne This large race of A. linaria is the Greenland representative of | tah species, though it is by no means confined to that country. It is, however, there, the prevailing if not the only form, while on the FRINGILLIDE—THE FINCHES, 235 continent it occurs chiefly in winter, though occasional summer specimens from very high latitudes appear to be scarcely smaller than Greenland samples, Mr. H. K. Coale has taken this bird near Chicago, and has kindly sent me for examination the specimens which he secured. Genus SPINUS Kocu. Spinus Kocu, Bayr. Zool. 1816, 233, Type, Fringilla spinus Linn. Chrysomitris Botg, Isis, 1828, 322 (same tyne). “Gen. Cuan. Bill rather acutely conic, the tip not very sharp; the culmen slightly con- vex at the tip; the commissure gently curved. Nostrils concealed. Obsolete ridges on the upper mandible. Tarsi shorter than the middle toe; outer toe rather the longer, reaching to the base of the middle one. Claw of hind toe shorter than the digital portion. Wings and tail as in giothus. “The colors are generally yellow, with black on the crown, throat, back, wings and tail, varied sometimes with white. “The females want the bright markings of the male.” “This genus differs from A?giothus [=Acanthis] in a less acute and more curved bill, a much less development of the bristly feathers at the base of the bill, the claw of the hind toe shorter than its digital portion, the claws shorter and less curved and attenuated, and the outer lateral toes not extending beyond the base of the middle claw.” —(Hist. N. Am. B.) The species occurring in the eastern United States (one of them probably as a purely accidental straggler) are the following: A. Inner webs of tail feathers with a white patch. 1. S.tristis. Adult male in summer: Rich lemon yellow, with black forehead, wings, and tail; tail-coverts, band across wing. and outer wing-markings, white. Adult female: Wings and tail as in the male, but duller; upper parts olive, tinged with lemon-yellow; lower parts pale yellowish, or sometimes grayish white, tinged with yellow anteriorly; no black on head. Adu!t male in winter: Similar to summer female, but more brownish. B. Inner webs of tail feathers without white patch, but with yellow bases. 2. §S. pinus, Aduit (sexes alike): Above grayish or brownish, below dull white, every- where streaked with dusky; bases of secondaries and tail-feathers sulphur- yellow. Young: Similar, but with a fulyous suffusion, especially on tips of wing-coverts; yellow of remiges and rectrices usually more exposed. 3. S.notatus. Adult male: Entire head,neck,and jugulum, with wings and tail, black; a patch of rich yellow on bases of remiges and rectrices; upper parts greenish olive-yellow, clouded with dusky on the back; beneath rich oil-yellow. Adult female: Head and neck olive above and yellow beneath, like the body; wings and tail less intensely black than the male. ~236 BIRDS OF ILLINOIS, Spinus tristis (Linn.) AMERICAN GOLDFINCH. Popular synonyms. Yellow-bird; Lettuce-bird; Salad-bird; Thistle-bird; Black-winged Yellow-bird; Black-capped Yellow-bird. Fringilla tristis Luyn. S. N. ed. 10, i,1758, 181; ed. 12,1, 1766 320.—Wiz~s. Am. Orn. i, 1808, 20, pl. 1, fig. 2—Aup. Orn. Biog. i, 1831, 172; v, 510, pl. 33.—Nutr. Man. i, 1832, 507. Carduelis tristis BP. 1825.—AuD. Synop. 1839, 116; B. Am. iii 1841, 129, pl. 181. Chrysomitris tristis Bp. 1838.—BarRpD, B. N. Am. 1858, 421; Cat. N. Am. B. 1859, No. 313. Cougs, Key, 1872, 131; Check List, 1878, No. 149; B. N. W. 1874, 116.—B. B. & R. Hist. N, Am. B. i, 1874, 471, pl. 22 figs. 7,8. Astragalinus tristis Cas. Mus. Hein. 1851, 159.—Ripaw. Nom, N. Am. B. 1881, No. 181. —Cougs, 2d Check List, 1882, No. 213. Spinus tristis STEIN. Auk, i, 1884, 362. Has. Whole of temperate North America, breeding nearly throughout its range. “Sp. CHar. Male. Bright gamboge-yellow; crown, wings, and tail black. Lesser wing-coverts, band across the end of greater ones, ends of secondaries and tertiaries, inner margins of tail-feathers, upper and under tail-coverts and tibia white. Length, 5.25 inches; wing, 3.00. TYemale. Yellowish gray above; greenish yellow below. No black on forehead. Wing and tail muchasin the male. Young. Reddish olive above; fulvous yellow below, two broad bands across coyerts and broad edges to last half of secondaries pale rufous. “Tn winter the yellow is replaced by a yellowish brown; the black of the crown want- ing, that of wings and tail browner. The throat is generally yellowish; the under parts ashy brown passing behind into white.” (Hist. NV. Am. B.) Found abundantly throughout temperate North America, famuihar in habits, and conspicuous in plumage, it is no wonder that the American Goldfinch is one of our best known birds. Known famil- jarly as Yellow-bird, Lettuce-bird, or Garden-bird, he is present with us at all seasons of the year, although there are many times when none are to be seen. In the fall the male loses his beautiful lemon-yellow plumage and assumes a sombre garb like that of the female, which he wears until the succeeding spring, when the rich colors of summer are resumed very gradually, the change commenc- ing in April and continuing until the summer is at hand, before all traces of the winter dress are lost. The Goldfinch is one of the latest of our birds to commence breeding, it being usually after the first of July, in the more eastern States,* before their nests are con- structed; and some broods of young first leave their nest in Sep- tember. This late breeding, as Dr. Brewer suggests, is probably due to the scarcity of proper food for the young during the early part of summer. ; * At Sacramento, California, however, I found this species breeding very abundantly during the month of June, nests with fresh eggs being taken from the 6th to the 28th of the month. FRINGILLIDA—THE FINCHES. 237 “The Goldfinch is to a large extent gregarious and nomadic in its habits, and only for a short portion of the year do these birds separate into pairs for the purposes of reproduction. During at least three fourths of the year they associate in small flocks, and wander about in an irregular and uncertain manner in quest of their food. They are resident throughout the year in New England and also throughout the greater portion of the country, their pres- ence or absence being regulated to a large extent by the abundance, scarcity, or absence of their favorite kinds of food. In the winter, the seeds of the taller weeds are their principal means of subsist- ence. In the summer, the seeds of the thistle and other plants and weeds are sought out by these interesting and busy gleaners. They are abundant in gardens, and as a general thing do very little harm, and a vast amount of benefit in the destruction of the seeds of troublesome weeds. As, however, they do not always dis- eriminate between seeds that are troublesome and those that are desirable, the Goldfinches are unwelcome visitors to the farmers who seek to raise their own seeds of the lettuce, turnip, and other similar vegetables. They are also very fond of the seeds of the sunflower.” (BREWER.) The notes of the American Goldfinch are for the most part re- markably sweet, partaking somewhat of the nature of the tweet of a canary bird, but more tender; and the song is no mean perform- ance. The latter more nearly resembles that of the Indigo Bunting than that of any other American species, but is more irregular, less harsh, and interrupted by interpolations of the ordinary eall- notes. The following interesting notes on the nest and eggs of the Amer- ican Goldfinch were kindly prepared for this work, at my request, by Mr. Hugh M. Smith, of Washington, D. C.: ‘Hach of eleven nests in my collection, from Virginia, is similar to the others in structure, being composed of thin strips of grape- vine bark and weed fibre, fine grass, catkins, and thread, with a few leaves occasionally worked in; these are very neatly and compactly woven together. The interior is lined with thistle-down and some- times a few feathers. The nest is cup-shaped; but inasmuch as the situation of the nest in a tree or shrub is variable, the shape, depending more or Jess on its resting place, is consequently some- what modified. Some nests—probably the greatest number—are lodged in the upright crotch of a tree; some are pendant between two forking limbs: while others are saddled on a horizontal bough. 238 BIRDS OF ILLINOIS. Orchards appear to be the favorite breeding localities of the Gold- finches. Young trees are preferred to old ones, the foliage of the former being denser, and offering greater concealment to the nest. The average size of a number of nests is three inches in diameter by one and a quarter inches in depth. ; “The peculiar feature connected with the nidification of the Goldfinch is the late date at which the nests are constructed and the eggs deposited. The earliest date at which the eggs accompany- ing the above-mentioned nests were taken, was July 27, the latest August 31, the eggs in both instances bemg newly laid, and proba- bly the full set. As late as the first week in September I haye seen nests with incomplete sets. It was impossible to ascertain with accuracy when the nests were built, but the time can be surmised from the dates given for the eggs. For three successive years the nests and eggs of the Goldfinch were systematically searched for im the same neighborhood; no full nests, however, were ever found prior to the 27th of July, as above stated. This may meet the ob- jection that might be made, that had the eggs been sought for, : they would probably have been discovered sooner. From three to six eggs are laid; four or five is the usual number. They are blu- ish white, with a delicate rosy tinge when fresh.” Spinus pinus (Wils.) PINE SISKIN, Popular synonyms. Pine Linnet; Pine Goldfinch. Fringilla pinus Wis. Am. Orn. ii, 1810, 133, pl. 17, fig. 1.—Nutr. Man. i, 1832, 511.—Aup. Orn. Biog. ii, 1834, 455; v, 509, pl. 180. Linaria pinus AuD. Synop. 1839, 117; B. Am. iii, 1841, 125, pl. 180. Chrysomitris pinus BP. 1838.—Batrp, B. N. Am. 1858, 425; Cat. N. Am. B. 1859, No. 817.— Cougs, Key, 1872, 131; Check List, 1873, No. 148; 2d ed. 1883, No. 212; B. N. W. 1874, 115.—B. B. & R. Hist. N. Am. B. i, 1874, 480, pl. 22, fig. 16.—Rip@w. Nom. N. Am. B. 1881, No. 185. Spinus pinus Sten. Auk. i, 1884, 362. Has. Cold-temperate North America, breeding south to coast of Massachusetts, the Hudson Valley and along the Rocky Mountains to southern Mexico, (Southern breeding limit in Alleghanies undetermined.) In winter migrating, irregularly, over greater por- tion of United States. “Sp. CHAR. Tail deeply forked. Above brownish olive. Beneath whitish, every feather streaked distinctly with dusky. Concealed bases of tail-feathers and quills, together with their inner edges, sulphur-yellow. Outer edges of quills and tail feathers yellowish green. Two brownish white bands on the wing. Length, 4.75; wing, 3.00; tail, 2.20. Sexes alike. Young similar, but the white below tinged with yellow, the upper parts with reddish brown, and there are two pale ochraceous bands on the wing.” (Hist. N. Am. B.) In autumn and winter a reddish brown tinge overspreads the upper parts. FRINGILLIDE--THE FINCHES. 239 The Pine Goldfinch, or Pine Siskin, inhabits during summer the northern coniferous forests, but in winter visits the milder climates of the United States, its migration extending to the northern dis- tricts of the Gulf States, if not to the shores of the Gulf itself. Its appearance in a given locality is irregular and uncertain, to about the same degree as that of the Purple Finch. In spring, large flocks may be seen feeding upon the tender buds of apple, elm, and other trees, either alone or m company with the Purple Finch. The nest of the Pine Goldfinch, as observed at Sing Sing, New York, is thus described by Dr. A. K. Fisher, in the “Nuttall Bul- letin” for July, 1888, pp. 180, 181: “On May 25 I secured the nest. It was situated about two feet from the top of the tree, and about twenty-four from the ground. It contained four nearly fresh eggs. The nest proper, or outside part, is a frail affair, the ling making up the bulk of the nest. The outer part is made up of fine twigs from the Norway spruce, loosely placed together, a few rootlets and pieces of string being interwoven. The lining is very compact, made up of hemp-like material, horse-hairs, bits of thread, feathers, rootlets, and like substances. The nest measures eight centimeters in breadth by five centimeters in depth. The ground work of the eggs is of a light blue-green, the spots, which are numerous and somewhat confluent on the larger end, are of a light brown-lilac color. A few large and solitary spots of dark brown are dispersed sparingly over the greater part of the egg, diminishing in size towards the smaller end. One egg was unfortunately broken; the others measure as follows: 124x16 mm. 123x16}mm, 12x17mm.” Grnus PLECTROPHENAX Sresnecer. Plectrophanes Kaur. Entw. Eur. Thierw. 1829, 138 (nee MEYER, 1815). Type, Emberiza nivalis LINN. Plectrophenaz STEIN. Proce. U. S. Nat. Mus. vy, 1882, 33. Same type. GEN. CHAR. Bill conical; the lower mandible higher than the upper, the sides of both mandibles guarded by a closely applied brush of stiffened bristly feathers directed forwards, and on the upper jaw concealing the nostrils: the outlines of the bill nearly Straight or slightly curved; the lower jaw considerably broader at the base than the upper, and wider than the gonysislong. Tarsi considerably longer than the middle toe; the lateral toes nearly equal (the inner claw largest), and reaching to the base of the middle claw. The hinder claw very long, moderately curved and acute, considerably longer than its toe; the toe and claw together reaching to the middle of the middle claw, or beyond its tip. Wings very long and much pointed, reaching nearly to the end of the tail; the first quill longest; the others rapidly graduated; the tertiaries a little longer than the secondaries. Tail moderate, about two thirds as long as the wings; nearly even, or slightly emarginated. 240 “BIRDS OF ILLINOIS. The two known species of this genus are essentially boreal, one of them, so far as known, being confined to the vicinity of Bermg Sea, while the other is quite cireumpolar. They are ground birds, collecting in large flocks, in autumn and winter, on tundra and plains, one of the species passing far to the southward. The re- cently discovered P. hyperboreus,* is distinguished by its much whiter coloration, only the tips of the quill-feathers and small spots near the end of the middle tail-feathers being black in the adult male. Plectrophenax nivalis (Linn.) SNOWFLAKE. Popular synonyms. White Snowbird; Snow Bunting. Emberiza nivalis Linn. S. N. ed. 10, i, 1758, 176; ed. 12, i, 1766 308—Wrxs. Am. Orn. iii, 1811, 86, pl. 21, fig. 2.—NutTr. Man. i, 1832, 458.—Aup. Orn. Biog. ii, 1834,515; v, 496, pl. 189. Plectrophanes nivalis MEYER.—AUD. Synop. 1839,99; B. Am. iii, 1841, 55, pl. 155.—Batrp, B. N. Am. 1858, 482; Cat. N. Am. B, 1859, No. 325.—Couns, Key, 1872, 133; Check List, 1873, No. 152; 2d ed. 1882, No. 219; B. N. W. 1874, 118.—B. B. & R. Hist. N. Am. B. i, 1874, 512, pl. 24, fig. 2.—Ripaw. Nom. N. Am. B. 1881, No. 186. Plectrophenax nivalis STEIN. Proc. U. 8S. Nat. Mus. 1882, 33, Has. Northern North America, south in winter, to northern United States (very irregularly beyond 40°, but quoted from Georgia, District of Columbia, Kentucky, Kansas, ete.). Also found throughout the aretic and subarctic portions of the Old World. “Sp. CHar. Male. Colors, in spring plumage, entirely black and white. Middle of back between seapulars, terminal half of primaries and tertiaries, and two innermost tail- feathers, black; elsewhere pure white. Legs black at all seasons. In winter dress, white beneath; the head and rump yellowish brown, as also some blotches on the side of the breast; middle of back brown, streaked with black; white on wings and tail much more restricted. Length about 6.75; wings, 4.35; tail, 3.05; first quilllongest. Female. Spring, continuous white beneath only; above entirely streaked,the feathers haying blackish centres and whitish edges; the black streaks predominate on the back and crown. Young. Light gray above, with obsolete dusky streaks on the back; throat and jugulum paler gray,—the latter with obsolete streaks; rest of lower parts dull white. Wing- eoverts, secondaries and tail-feathers broadly edged with light ochraceous brown.” (Hist. N. Am. B.) Although the “White Snowbird” or “Snowflake” is said to be an abundant winter resident of the northern portion of the State, it is so very rare in the more southern districts that the writer has seen there but a single specimen, the locality bemg Mount Carmel, and the date forgotten, but sometime during the early part of 1864 or 1865. Mr. Nelson’s notes on its occurrence in northeastern Ilinois (Bull. Eissex Inst., Vol. VIII., 1876, p. 105) are as follows: *See Proc. U. 8. Nat. Mus. vii, 1884, 68, FRINGILLID—THE FINCHES. 941 “An abundant winter resident. Arrives in flocks, the first of November, and remains until about the middle of March. The 5th of March, 1875, I saw a flock of these birds in a tree in Chicago. The males were chanting a very low and somewhat broken, but very pleasant, song, bearing considerable resemblance to that of Spizella monticola. This and the following species, [Calearius lapponicus], as well as other winter residents, appear a week or more earlier in the fall, and depart later in the spring, in the vicinity of the lake, than in any other parts of the State in the same latitude.” The Snow Bunting breeds throughout the Arctic regions of both continents, the National Museum possessing nests from the most northern point of Alaska (Poimt Barrow) and from Labrador, as well as from various intermediate localities. Genus CALCARIUS Becustein. Calcarius Becust. Orn. Tasch. Deutsch, 1803, 130, Type, Fringilla lapponica Linn. GEN. CHAR. Bill small, the gonys very short, with its angle opposite the middle of the culmen; maxilla equal to or exceeding the mandible in depth, the depth of the bill not exceeding the length of the gonys. Middle toe, with claw, shorter than tarsus, the middle claw falling short of that of the hallux. Tail longer than the distance from the carpal joint to the tips of the tertials (except in (. ornatus). The three species of this genus differ considerably in the details of form, but it is probable that these differences are of no more than specific value. Thus C. ornatus differs from both C. pictus and C. lapponicus in haying the tail much shorter than the distance from the carpal joint of the wing to the end of the tertials, in which respect it agrees with hynchophanes mccownti, but this is apparently owing more to the greater development of the second- aries than to a really reduced length of the tail. In the form of the bill, however, it agrees very closely with C. pictus, which, as does also that of C. ornatus, differs from that of C. lapponicus in bemg more slender and pointed. The species may be distinguished by the followmg characters: Common CHaRAcTERS. Above brown, spotted with black. Male with the crown and other parts of the head black. A. Outer tail-feathers dusky at the base. 1. C.lapponicus, Lower parts dull whitish. Adult male in summer: Head and jugu- lum black, witha broad white supra-auricular stripe; nape bright chestnut-rufous; lesser wing-coverts grayish; middle coyerts dusky. Jn winter: Similar, but throat whitish, jugular patch badly defined, head much tinged with ochraceous, and rufous of nape obscured by grayish. Adult female in summer: Head mostly dull buffy, the crown with two broad lateral stripes of broad dusky streaks, the --16 Saints m3 949 BIRDS OF ILLINOIS. ear-coverts tipped with a dusky bar; a dusky patch on each side of throat and in- dication of one on the jugulum; nape faintly rufous, streaked with black. In win- ter: Similar, but more suffused with brownish. Young: Head, neck, jugulum, and upper parts yellowish fulvous, streaked with black; crownand wings strongly tinged with rufous. 2. C. pictus. Lower parts deep buff. Adult male in summer: Head black, with lores, centre of ear-coverts, a maxillary anda supra-auricular stripe, white; throat, nape, and entire lower parts deep buif; lesser wing-coverts black, with the last row white. Jn winter: The wing and lower parts similar, but the head without well- defined black, and the white replaced by buff. Adult female: Similar to male in winter plumage, but jugulum streaked with dusky, and lesser wing-coyerts grayish. B. Base of outer tail-feathers white. 3. C. ornatus. Two outer tail-feathers white to the extreme base, and third with base white. Adult male: Nape chestnut-rufous; belly black. Jn summer: Top of head, jugulum, and belly deep black, the latter sometimes tinged with rufous; nape uniform deep chestnut-rufous; all markings sharply contrasted. In winter: Top of head streaked with black and fulvous, the rufous of nape and black of lower parts overlaid and nearly concealed by light grayish fulvous tips of feathers. Adult female: Entirely light dull buff, the upper parts broadly, and sometimes the breast narrowly, streaked with dusky. Young: Above blackish, the feathers bordered with dull whitish; wings dull brownish fulvous; throat white, faintly spotted with dusky; rest of lower part pale dull buff, the breast streaked with dusky. ; Calcarius lapponicus (Linn.) LAPLAND LONGSPUR. Popular synonym, Brown Snowbird. Fringilla lapponica Linn. S. N, ed. 12, i, 1766, 317. Emberiza lapponica Niuss.—Norv. Man. i, 1832, 463.—A uD. Orn. Biog. iv, 1893, 473, pl. 365. Emberiza (Plectrophanes) lapponica Sw. & Ricu. F. B. A. ii, 1831, 248, pl. 48. Plectrophanes lapponicus SELBY.—AUD. Synop. 1839, 98; B. Am. iii, 1841, 50, pl. 152.— Barry, B. N. Am. 1858, 433; Cat. N. Am. B. 1859, No. 326.—Covugs, Key, 1872, 133; Cheek List, 1873, No. 153; 2d ed. 1882, No. 220; B. N. W. 1874, 120.—B. B. & R. Hist. N. Am. B. i, 1874, 515, pl. 24, fig. 7. Gentrophanes lapponicus KAUP, 1829.—Ripew. Nom. N. Am. B. 1881, No. 187. Calcarius lapponicus STEIN. Proc. U. 8. Nat. Mus. 1882, 33. Has. Northern North America, breeding in arctic and subarctic districts, in winter migrating very irregularly, south to or beyond 40° (South Carolina, Kentucky, southern Illinois, northern Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, ete.); very rare in Middle Province, and not recorded from Pacifie Province. “Sp. CHAR. Male. Head all round,and neck, black, extending on the jugulum ina erescentic patch; a broad line from above and behind the eye,sides of neck,a patch in the black of hind head,and whole under parts, white; the sides of body streaked broadly with black. A broad half-collar of chestnut on back of neck, separated from the hood narrowly, and from the auriculars and throat broadly, by the white stripe from the eye. Above brownish black,the feathers sharply edged with brownish yellow. Outer tail- feathers white, except the basal portion of inner web, anda shaft streak at end; next feather with a white streak in end, rest black. Legs black; bill yellow, tipped with black. In winter plumage the black and other markings overlaid by rusty and fulvous; beneath whitish. Female with the black feathers of head edged with yellowish rusty; the throat white, bordered on the sides and behind by blackish; feathers edged with grayish white, the rufous of nape obscure,and streaked with blackish. Length of male, 6.25; wing, 3.90; tail, 2.80. FRINGILLIDA'—THE FINCHES. 243 ‘Autumnal spee’‘mens, of both sexes, differ in having the pattern of coloration obscured by ochraceous borders to the feathers, and a general rusty cast to the plumage.” (Hist. N. Am. B.) This species occurs throughout the State in winter. During severe weather I have seen large fiocks at Mount Carmel, flitting in a restless manner over the snow, uttering all the while a peculiar rattling chirrup; and on other occasions, I have observed indi- viduals mixed in with flocks of Shore Larks. The Lapland Longspur, like the Snow Bunting, breeds in the arctic regions of both continents. The male is said to be a sweet songster, often singing while on the wing. Calearius pictus (Swa'‘ns.) SMITH’S LONGSPUR. Popular synonyms. Painted Longspur; Smith's Bunting. Emberiza (Plectrophanes) picta Sw. & Ricu. F. B. A. ii, 1831, 250, pl. 49. Emberiza picta AuD. Orn. Biog. v, 1889, 91, pl. 400. Plectrophanes pictus Bp. 1838.—AupD. Synop, 1839, 99; B. Am. iii, 1841, 52, pl. 153.—Batrp, B. N. Am. 1858, 434; Cat. N. Am. B. 1859, No. 327.—CovEs, Key, 1872, 134; Check List, 1873, No. 134; B. N. W. 1874, 121.—B. B. & R. Hist. N. Am. B. i, 1874, 518, pl. 24, flgs. 4, 5. Centrophanes pictus CaB. 1851.—Ripew. Nom. Am. B. 1881, No. 188. Calearius pictus STEIN. Proc. U. 8. Nat. Mus. ) Ode Emberiza smithii AuD. B. Am. vii, 1844, 337, pl. 487. Haz. Great interior plains of North America, breeding from the Yukon, Mackenzie River, and Slave Lake districts for an undetermined distance southward, and migrating in winter to the prairies of the Mississippi Valley and as far south as northwestern Texas “Sp. CHar. Male. Spring. Top and sides of head black. A line from bill over the eye, lores, lower and posterior border of the black cheeks, ears, (encircled by black), and asmall patch in the nape, white. Entire under parts, and extending round neck to nape (where it bounds abruptly the black of head), buff or light cinnamon-yellow; the under tail-coverts paler; the inside of wings, white. Feathers of upper surface black, edged with yellowish gray; shoulders or lesser coverts and the greater, black; middle white, forming aconspicuous patch. Quills edged externally with white, this involving the whole outer web of outermost primary. Whole of outer and most of second tail-feathers white. Bill dusky; lower mandible and legs yellowish. Length, 5.50; wing, 3.50; tail, 2.75; bill, .45. “Female. The markings of male faintly indicated, but the black and buff wanting. Head above brown, streaked centrally with paler. A narrow dark line on each side the throat, and brownish streaks across the jugulum, andalong sides of body. Traces visible of the white marks of the head. Bill and feet as in the male.” “This species is quite similar in form to P. lapponicus, although with slenderer bill, and perhaps longer hind claw. While the colors of adult males are very different, the females have a decided resemblance; they may, however, be distinguished im all stages by 244. BIRDS OF ILLINOIS. the black or dusky legs of lapponicus and the yellow of pictus, and perhaps by the more dusky upper mandibles of the latter.” (Hist. N. Am. B.) Like the Lapland Longspur, this species is only a winter visitor to Illinois. It is by no means so generally distributed as that spec-es, its migrations being almost wholly confined to the open prairie districts. “Mr. Audubon, in company with Mr. Harris and Mr. Bell, ob- tained specimens of these birds near Edwardsville, and described them as a new species [Plectrophanes smithii]. Mr. Bell states, im regard to these birds, that he found them very abundant on the low prairie near a lake, a few miles from Edwardsville. They were generally in large flocks, and when once on the ground they began to separate. They ran very nimbly, in a manner resembling that of the Grass Finch, and when they arose, which they rarely did unless they were nearly approached, they uttered a sharp click, repeated several times in quick succession, and moyed with an easy undulating motion for a short distance and then alighted very sud- denly, seeming to fall perpendicularly several feet to the ground. They preferred the roots where the grass was shortest. When in the air they flew in circles, to and fro, for a few minutes, and then alighted, keeping up a constant chirping or call, somewhat like that of the Red-Poll.” (Brewer.) Mr. Nelson records the followimg regarding his observations on this species in the northwestern portions of the State: “Common migrant. March 30, 1875, near Calumet Lake, I found a flock containmg about seventy-five imdividuals of this species. Their habits are quite similar to those of P. lapponicus while upon the ground, except that while the latter species preferred the wet portions of the prairie, the former were found only about the higher portions. When flushed they imvariably uttered a sharp clicking note, rapidly repeated several times. When driven from their feed- ing place by my approach, they would rise, in a loose flock, and after wheeling about a few times start off in a direct line, gradually rising higher until they disappeared. After a short time their peculiar note would be heard, and darting down from a considerable height they would alight near the place from which they were driven. Although the flocks of P. pictus and P. lapponicus often be- came mingled while flying over the prairie, I did not see them alight together.” FRINGILLIDE—THE FINCHES. 245 The breeding range of this species is much more restricted than that of C. lapponicus, bemg confined to the interior of Arctic Amer- ica, chiefly in the basin of Mackenzie and Anderson rivers, including the region about the Great Bear and Great Slave lakes. In fact, it is emphatically a-bird of the great interior valleys of the continent, between the Rocky Mountams on the one side and the Atlantic forest region on the other. Grxtus RHYNCHOPHANES Patrp. Rhynchophanes Barry, Birds N. Am. 1858, 432. Type, Plectrophanes mecownii LAwR. Gen. CHAR. Bill stout, conical, the gonys longer than the hind toe, with its angle con- siderably posterior to the middle of the bill. Maxillaequal to the mandible in depth; mandibular tomium forming a decided angle at the base. Middle toe, with claw, shorter than tarsus, the claw reaching beyond that of the hallux. Taildecidedly shorter than the distance from the carpal joint of the wing to the tips of the tertials. In the form of the bill of this well-marked genus there is nothing to indicate its near affinity to the genera Plectrophenax and Calca- rius; but in other parts of its organization it evidently approaches much nearer to these forms than any other. The bill is wonderfully similar to that of Calamospiza, the only conspicuous difference being its considerably narrower form,—particularly the mandible, as com- pared with the maxilla. The lateral, as well as the vertical, out- Jines are very nearly the same, ‘even to the well-marked angle at the base of the mandibular tomium. In other characters, how- ever, the two genera are so different as to warrant their assignment to distinct groups, or subfamiles. The genus Rhynchophanes contains a single species, peculiar to the interior of North America. Rhynchophanes mecownii (Lawr.) McCOWN’S LONGSPUR. Popular synonym. McCown’s Bunting. Plectrophanes mecownii Lawn. Ann. Lye. N. Y. vi, 1851, 122—Barrp, B. N. Am. 437; Cat. N. Am. B. 1859, No. 330.—CovEs, Key, 1872, 134; Check List, 1875, No. 156; B. N. W. 1874, 124.—B. B. & R. Hist. N. Am. B. i, 1874, 523. pl. 24, fig. 1. Rhynchophanes mecowni Barrp.—Riwew. Nom. N. Am. B. 1881, No. 190. Hap. Great Plains of the United States, breeding northward (in Dakota, Wyoming, ete.) and migrating south in winter through Colorado, Kansas, Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona, to northern Mexico; occasional winter visitor to prairies of Illinois. 946 BIRDS OF ILLINOIS. “Sp. CHar, Male in spring. Top of head, abroad stripe each side the throat from lower mandible, and a broad crescent on jugulum, black; side of head including lores and band above the eye, throat, and under parts, ashy white; ear-coverts bordered above and behind by blackish, running out at the maxillary stripe. Breast just behind the black crescent and sides, showing dark bases of feathers. Upper parts ashy, tinged with yellowish on the mandible, and streaked with dusky; least so on nape andrump. Lesser wing-coverts ashy; median, chestnut-brown, with blackish bases sometimes evident; the quills all bordered broadly externally with whitish, becoming more ashy on second- aries. Tail-feathers white except at the concealed bases and the ends, which have a transverse (not oblique) tip of blackish; the outermost white to the end; the two central like the back. Bill dark plumbeous; legs blackish. In winter, the markings more or less obscured; the bill and legs more yellowish. “Female lacks the black markings, which, however, are initicated obsoletely as in other Plectrophanes: there is no trace of chestnut on the wings, nor the streaks on the breast. Length, 5.50; wing, 3.60; tail, 2.50; bill, .46. “This species varies considerably in markings, but is readily rec- ognized among other Plectrophanes in all stages by short hind toe, very stout bill, and the transverse dark bar at the end of all tail- feathers except the inner and outer. (Hist. N. Am. B.) McCown’s Longspur is one of several very peculiar birds which together characterize the avi-fauna of the Great Plains of North America, its more prominent associates in this distinction being the Lark Bunting (Calamospiza melanocorys), Chestnut-collared Longspur (Calcarius ornatus), Baird’s Bunting (Centronyx bairdii), Clay-colored Sparrow (Spizella pallida), Leconte’s Sparrow (Coturniculus lecontet), and Harris’s Sparrow (Zonotrichia querula). These, together with the subject of the present article, and a few species not named, char- acterize a Campestrian Province, which, so far as its avian fauna is concerned, is even more distinct from the Middle Province than is the Pacific Provimce.* McCown’s Longspur is an abundant species during summer on the great plains of Dakota, Montana, and Wyoming, to the northward and southward of which its breeding range extends for an undeter- mined distance. In winter it migrates south to the prairies and plains of Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona, as well as to the table- lands of Mexico. In Illinois it is, so far as known, merely a strag- gler during its migrations, or in winter, three specimens having been taken in January, 1877, at Champaign, Champaign county, as an, nounced by Mr. H. K. Coale in the ‘Nuttall Bulletin” for April, 1877, p. 52. *Writers on the z00-geographical divisions of North America have almost all divided the continent into three “Provinces;” viz., an Eastern, a Middle, anda Pacific. These divisions seem to me untenable, however, and I would allow only two primary longitudi- nal divisions; an Eastern and a Western, the latter with three subdivisions, which may be termed, respectively, the Pacific, the Rocky Mountain (or Middle), and the Campes- trian districts, le ti ht ite he Ne el te FRINGILLIDZ—THE FINCHES. 247 Supramiry PASSERIN ZA. “The introduction into the United States at so many distant points, of the European House Sparrow (Pyrgita domestica) renders it necessary to introduce it with any work treating of the birds of North America, although totally different in so many features from our own native forms. * bs = In some respects similar to certain Coccothraustine, in the short tarsi and covered nostrils, the wings are shorter and more rounded, the sides of the bill with stiff bristles, éte. The much longer, more vaulted bill, weaker feet, and covered nostrils, distinguish it from Spizelline.” (Hist. N. Am. B.) Genus PASSER Bnrt:: on. Passer Brisson, Orn. iii, 1700, 72. Type, Fringil/a domesi e+ LUNN. “Gen. CHAR. Bill robust, swollen, without any distinct ridge; upper and under outlines .curved; margins inflexed; palate vaulted, without any knob; nostrils covered by sparse, short, incumbent feathers; side of bill with stiff, appressed bristles. Tarsi short and stout, about equal to or shorter than the middle toes; claws short, stout, and considerably eurved. Wings longer than tail; somewhat pointed, Tail nearly even, emarginated,and -slightly rounded.” (Hist. VN. Am, B.) Passer domesticus (Inn., EUROPEAN HOUSE-SPARKOW. Popular synonyms. English Sparrow; European Sparrow; House Sparrow. Fringilla domestica Lin. S. N. ed. 10,1, 1758, 183; ed. 12,1, 1766, 323. Passer domesticus SCHAEFF. Mus. Or. 1789, 24.—Covss, Key, 1872, 146; 2d ed. 1884, 344; Check List, 1873, No. 187; 2d ed. 1882, No. 192. Pyrgita domestica Cty. Rég. An. 2d ed. i, 1729, 439.—B. B. & R. Hist. N. Am. B. i, 1874, 525, pl. 23, fig. 12. Has. Whole of Palearctic Region. Introducedinto and naturalized in North America Australia, and other countries. ¢ - “Sp. CHar. Male. Above chestnut-brown; the interscapular feathers streaked with black oninner webs; the top of head and nape, lower back, rump, and tail-coverts, plain ashy; narrow frontal line, lores, chin, throat, and jugulum black; rest of under parts grayish, nearly white along median region. A broad chestnut-brown stripe from behind eye, running into the chestnut of back; cheeks and sides of neck white; outside of closed wing, pale chestnut-brown, with a broad white band on the middle coverts, and behind showing the brown quills; the lesser coverts dark chestnut, like the head stripe. Tail dark brown, edged with pale chestnut. Bill black; feet reddish; iris brown. “Female. Duller of color, and lacking the black of face and throat; breast and abdomen reddish ash; cheeks ashy; a yellow-ochre band above and behind the eyes, and across the wings. Head and neck above brownish ash; body above r-ddisi ash, streaked longi- tudinally with black. “Male in winter. The colors generally less distinct. Length, 6.00; wing, 2.85; tail, 2.50; tarsus, .70; middle toe and claw, .60. 248 BIRDS OF ILLINOIS. “The House Sparrow of Europe has been introduced into so many parts of the United States as to render it probable that at no dis- tant day it will have become one of our most familiar species. Brought over to the New World within a comparatively few years, it has commenced to multiply about the larger cities, especially in the environs of New York, as also about Portland, Boston, Newark, and Philadelphia ig ‘Z One thousand birds were let loose in the public squares of Philadelphia in the spring of 1869.” (Hist. N. Am. B., 1874.) Concerning this unmitigated pest we have little to say, further than to bewail the misfortune of its mtroduction, and to plead for its extermination. It is in every respect a first-class nuisance, to be classed along with the house-rat and other noxious vermin. Supramity SPIZELLIN2.—Tue American Sparrows. CuHaR. Bill variable, usually almost straight; sometimes curved. Commissure gen- erally nearly straight, or slightly concave. Upper mandible wider than lower. Nostrils exposed. Wings moderate; the outer primaries not muchrounded, Tail variable. Feet large; tarsi mostly longer than the middle toe. The species are usually small, and of dull color, though frequently handsomely marked. Nearly all are streaked on the back and crown, often on the belly. None of the United States species have any red, blue, or orange, and the yellow, when present, is as a superciliary streak, or on the elbow edge of the wing. In the arrangement of this subfamily, as of the others belonging to the Fringillide, we do not profess to give anything like a natural system, but merely an attempt at a convenient artificial scheme by which the determination of the genera may be facilitated. A. Tail small and short, considerably or decidedly shorter than the wings, owing either to the elongation of the wing or the shortening of the tail. Lateral toes shorter than the middle without the claws. Species streaked above and below. (Ammodrames.) Ammodramus. Tarsus not longer than middle toe, with claw. No white outer tail- feathers. a. Subgenus Ammodramus. Bill slender, the depth at the base less than half the culmen. Tail graduated, the feathers acute. Outstretched feet reaching to or beyond tip of tail. b. Subgenus Coturniculus. Bill stouter, the depth at base more than half the culmen (except in C.lecontei). Tail graduated or double-rounded, the feathers narrow and acute, Outstretched feet falling short of tip of tail. = FRINGILLIDH—THE FINCHES. 249 d. Subgenus Centronyx. Tail deeply emarginate,two and a half times as long as the tarsus, the feathers narrow and attenuated,as in Coturnicu’us. Hind claw nearly or quite as long as its digit. e. Subgenus Passerculus. Tail slightly emarginate, three times as long as the tarsus, the feathers broad and scarcely attenuate,though acute at tips. Hind claw shorter than its digit. Poocetes. Tarsus longer than middle toe, with claw. Outer tail-feathers partly white. B. Tail longer and broader; nearly or quite as long as, sometimes a very little longer than, the wings, which are rather lengthened. The primaries considerably longer than the secondaries. None of the species streaked beneath, when adult, and only the back and crown, or back alone, streaked above. (Spizellez.) a. Tail rounded or slightly graduated. Chondestes. Tail considerably graduated. Lateral toes considerably shorter than the middle toe, without its claw. Wings very long,decidedly longer than the tail, reaching the middle of the tail. First quill longest. Head broadly striped with chestnut. Back streaked. White beneath. A white blotch on the end of the tail-feathers. Zonotrichia, Tail rounded. Wings moderate,about as long as the tail, reaching about over the basal fourth of the tail; first quill less than the second to fourth. Feet large. Head striped with black and white or with brown and ochraceous. Back streaked. Juneco. Tail very nearly equal to the wings, slightly double-rounded. Outer toe rather longer than inner, reaching the middle claw. No streaks anywhere except in young; black or ash-color above; belly white; with or withouta rufous back and sides. Outer tail-feathers white. Amphispiza. Tail lengthened, rounded or slightly graduated; the feathers unusu- ally broad to the end. Bill slender. Wings about as long as the tail, reaching but little beyond its external base. Tertials broad, and, with the secondaries, rather lengthened. Second to fifth quills nearly equal,and longest. Tail black. Ashy brown above; white beneath. Sides of head with stripes of black or grayish and white. b. Tail decidedly forked; a little shorter than the wing, sometimes a little longer. Spizella, Size rather small. Wings long. Lower mandible largest. Uniform be- neath, or with a pectoral spot or the chin black. C, Taillengthened and graduated; decidedly longer than the wings, which are very short, searcely extending beyond the external base of the tail. Feet reaching but little beyond the middle of the tail. Species all streaked above; streaked or nearly unicolor beneath. No white on wings or tail. Outer lateral toe the longer. First quill not the shortest of the primaries. (Melospizez.) Melospiza. Culmen and commissure nearly straight. Claws stout; hinder one as large as its digit. Tail-feathers rather broad. Body streaked beneath (except in VM. georgiana). Peucea. Culmen and commissure curved. Claws weak; hinder one not much eurved, decidedly shorter than its digit. Tail-feathers narrow. Without streaks beneath, excepting a narrow submaxillary stripe. PD. Tailrather short,and much graduated; longer than the wings; the midrib more median. Culmencuryed. Tarsus considerably longer than middle toe. Outer too longer. But little difference in the length of the quills; the outer ones mueh rounded; even the second quill is shorter than any other primary except the first. (Embernagrez.) Embernagra, Color,plain oliye-green above. 250 BIRDS OF ILLINOIS. Grnus AMMODRAMUS Swarson. Susncenus Ammodramus. Ammodramus SWAINSON, Zo6l. Jour. iii, 1827, 348. Type, Oriolus caudacutus GMBL. “Gen. CHAR. Bill very long, slender, and attenuated, considerably curved towards the tip above. The gonysstraight. A decided lobe in middle of cutting edge of upper bill. The legs and toes are very long and reach considerably beyond the tip of the short tail. The tarsus is about equal to the elongated middle toe; the lateral toes equal. their claws falling considerably short of the base of the middle one; the hind claw equal to the lateral one. Wings short, reaching only to the base of the tail; much rounded; the secondaries and tertials equal,and not much shorter than the primaries. The tuailis rather shorter than the wings, and graduated laterally; each feather stiffened, lanceolate, and acute. “Color. Streaked above and across the breast; very faintly on the sides. “The essential characters consist in the slender and elongated bill; the long legs reaching considerably beyond the tail, with the lateral claws falling considerably short of the middle one; and the very short rounded wmgs, rather longer than the cuneate tail, with its stiffened and lanceolate feathers.” (Hist. N. Am. B.) Only one of the three known species of this genus has been taken in Illinois. In view, however, of the possible occurrence of a second (A. maritimus), its characters, together with those of the other, are given in the following synopsis: ComMon CHARACTERS. Above olivaceous or ashy, the crown washed with brown laterally, the dorsal feathers darker centrally; beneath white, tinged across the jugulum with ochraceous or ashy; juguiam streaked; a dusky “bridle” on each side of the throat, _above it a malar stripe of ochraceous or white. 1. A.caudacutus. Adult: Above mixed olive,gray, and brown; the outer webs of back feathers edged with olivish gray or whitish,and often with darker streaks; crown usually with a brown suffusion.and streaked with black laterally. Super- ciliary stripe, maxillary stripe,and whole jugulum, ochraceous, the latter more or less streaked; abdomen unstreaked white; edge of wing light yellow. Youwng: Above fulvous brown and ochraceous, streaked with black; crown mostly black, with a median stripe of fulvous streaks. Beneath entirely ochraceous, the sides of the jugulum streaked. Qa. caudacutus. Wing, 2.20-2.40; tail, 2.15-2.40; bill, .30-35. Atlantic seacoast, from Florida to Maine. neisoni. Wing,2.10; tail, 2.05; bill, .30. Bill more slender; colors much deeper, and markings much better defined. Fresh water marshes of United States, chiefly in Mississippi Valley. 2. A.maritimus. Above olivaceous gray, with ashy gloss on the back; beneath gray- ish white, very indistinctly streaked on the jugulum and sides of breast with grayish; edge of wing,and supraloral stripe gamboge-yellow, Wing, 2.30-2.65; tail, 2.35-2.65, FRINGILLIDE—THE FINCHES. 251 Ammodramus caudacutus nelsoni (Allen). NELSON'S SPARROW. Popular synonym. Nelson's Sharp-tailed Finch. Ammodromus caudacutus var. ne’soni ALLEN, Proc. Boston Soe. xvii, March. 1875, 93.— NEtsoy, Bul]. Essex Inst. viii, 1876, 107,152; Bull. Nutt. Orn. Club, July, 1876 40. Ammodromus caudacutus nelsoni Ripew. Nom. N. Am. B. 1881, No. 20la.—Covsgs, 2d Check List, 1882, No. 241; 2d Key, 1884, 368. Has. Mississippi Valley (Calumet marshes, and vicinity of Warsaw, Illinois; eastern Kansas, etc.); salt marshes of Atlantic coast during migrations. Sp. CHar. Adu/t. Pileum bluish gray or olive-gray medially, umber-brown laterally, the lateral stripes more or less streaked with black. A broad superciliary stripe deep ochraceous, connected behind the auriculars with a broad maxillary stripe of the same eolor. Auriculars grayish, with a dusky line along upper edge, connecting with a dis- tinct black streak beneath hinder part of the ochraceous superciliary stripe. Scapulars and interscapulars bright olive-brown, the outer webs broadly edged with grayish white, separated from the brown by ablackish line. Tertials dusky, bordered with rusty whitish or pale rusty. Rump uniform olive-brown. liectrices light raw-umber-brown, darker along shafts. Chin, throat, breast, sides. flanks, and crissum ochraceous, the jugulum, breast, sides, and flanks streaked with dusky. Wing, 2.20-2.30; tail, 1.95-2.10. This inland race differs from the coast form principally in its somewhat smaller size (the bill especially) and brighter coloration, the colors being richer and the markings more sharply contrasted. So little is known either of its habits or distribution, that all the information we have to offer is the following, from Mr. Nelson’s list of the birds of northwestern Illinois. (Bull. Essex Inst., Vol. VIII., 1876, p. 107): “First obtained September 17, 1874, in the Calumet Marsh, where it was abundant at the time. The 12th of June, 1875, I saw sev- eral of these birds in the dense grass bordering Calumet Lake, where they were undoubtedly breeding. The Ist of October, 1875, I again found them abundant on the Calumet Marsh, and also found them numerous in the wild rice bordering Grass Lake, Lake county, Illi- nois, the 10th of November the same year. Prof. S. A. Forbes has taken them on the Illinois River during the migrations, and Dr. Hoy has obtained a single specimen at Racine. From the numbers which visit us in the fail, they must breed in abundance north of this State. They are difficult to obtain, as they take refuge in the dense marsh grass upon the first alarm. Occasionally one mounts a tall reed and utters a short, unmusical song, slightly resembling that of the Swamp Sparrow (M. palusiris).” © 252, ; BIRDS OF ILLINOIS, Suncrenus Coturniculus Bonaparte. Coturniculus BonaP. Geog. and Comp. List, 1838,32. Type, Fringilla passerina WILSs. “GEN. CHAR. Bill very large and stout (exceptin C. lecontei); the under mandible broader, but lower than the upper, which is decidedly convex at the basal portion of its upper outline. Legs moderate, apparently not reaching to the end of the tail. The tarsus appreciably longer than the middle toe; the lateral toes equal, and with their claws falling decidedly short of the middle claw; the hind toe intermediate between the two. The wings are short and rounded, reaching to the base of the tail; the tertiaries almost as long as the primaries; not much difference in length in the primaries, although the outer three or four are slightly graduated. The tail is short and narrow, shorter than the wing (except in C. lecontei), graduated laterally, but slightly emarginate; the feathers all lanceolate and acute, but not stiffened, as in Ammodramus. “This genus agrees with Passerculus m the short and narrow tail. The wings are much shorter, and more rounded; the feet shorter, especially the middle toe, which is not as long as the tarsus. The tail-feathers are more lanceolate. The bill is much longer, and more swollen at the base. “The essential characters zs i consist in the swollen con- vex bill; the short toes, compared with the tarsus; the short and rounded wings; and the very small, narrow, slightly graduated tail, with its lanceolate, acute feathers (except nm the South American C. manimbe). - “In some respects there is a resemblance to Ammodramus, m which, however, the bill is very much more slender; the wings are shorter, and more rounded; the tail feathers much stiffer, and even more lanceolate; the toes extending beyond the tip of the tail; the middle toe rather longer than the tarsus, imstead of considerably shorter.” “CO. lecontei has the same general form, but a much smaller bill.” (Hist. N. Am. B.) The three North American species differ very strikingly from one another in form, and may be readily distinguished by proportions alone, as follows: a. Tai] much shorter than the wing. double-rounded. Primarics extending beyond the tips of the largest tertials for about .40 of an inch. 1. C. passerinus, Bill stout, the culmen slightly depressed in the middle portion. Wing about 2.50; tail, 1.90; culmen, .50; depth of bill, .25; tarsus, .8)). b. Tail about equal to, or even longerthan the wing, graduated. Primaries extending very little beyond tips of longest tertials. 2. C.henslowi. Bill very stout, the culmen not depressed in the middle. Wing about 2.15; tail, 2.10; culmen, .50; depth of bill .30; tarsus, .70. 3. C.lecontei. Bill very small and slender, the culmen depressed in the middle portion. Wing about 2.10; tail, 2.30; culmen, .45; depth of bill, .20; tarsus, .65, ei a iat i FRINGILLIDM—THE FINCHES. 253 By coloration; they may be distinguished as follows: Common CHaracters. Crown and back streaked with black upon an ashy, olive, or chestnut ground; beneath whitish, tinged across the breast with ochraceous or ashy, plain, or with blackish streaks on the breast. A light superciliary stripe. A. A dusky streak on each side of the light malar stripe. 1. C.henslowi. Bill very robust, .28-.32 from nostril and .25-.28 deep at base. Adult: Head grayish ochraceous, lighter beneath; a stripe of black streaks on each side of the crown; also a post-auricular black streak, andaless distinet black streak on each side of the lighter malar stripe; breast streaked with black. B. No dusky streak on either side of light malar stripe. 2. C€.lecontei, Bill very narrow (much asin Ammodramus caudacutus), .25-.30 from nostril and .20 deep at base. Adull: Head fine buff, the auriculars, lores, and pos- terior two thirds of the middle stripe on the crown, grayish white; a black stripe on each side of crown; sides (but not breast) streaked with black. Young: above ochraceous, with broad streaks of black on the back; medial stripe of crown en- tirely buff; beneath white, the jugulum buffy, narrowly streaked with dusky. 3. C. passerinus. Bill robust, .28-32 from nostril, and .25-.30 deep. Adult: Head, throat, jugulum, and sides ochraceous buff; edge of wing gamboge-yellow; a yel- low spot above the lore; no streaks on jugulum on sides. Crown chestnut-brown or black, divided bya medial, narrower stripe of buff orpale gray. Young: Super- ciliary and middle crown stripes pale grayish; beneath pale buify; the jugulum streaked with dusky; no distinct yellow on lore or edge of wing. Ammodramus savannarum passerinus (Wils.) GRASSHOPPER SPARROW. Popular synonyms. Yellow-winged Sparrow; Grass-bird; Ground-bird; Grasshopper- bird. Fringilla passerina Wis. Am. Orn. iii, 1811, 76, pl. 26, fig. 5.—Aup. Orn. Biog. ii, 1834, 180; Y, 1839, 497, pl. 130, Emberiza passerina AuD. Synop. 1839, 103; B. Am. iii, 1842.73, pl. 162. Coturniculus passerinus BoNAP. 1838.—Barrp, B. N. Am. 1858, 450; Cat. N. Am. B. 1859, No. 338.—CouEs, Key, 1872, 137; Check List, 1873, No. 162; 2d ed. 1882, No. 234; B. N. W. 1874, 151.—B. B. & R. Hist. N. Am. B. i, 1874, 553, pl. 25, fig. 4 -Ripew. Nom. N. Am. B. 1881, No. 198. Fringilla savannarum GMEL.—NvTT. Man. i, 1832, 494; 2d ed. i, 1840, 570. Has. Eastern United States, breeding throughout, but wintering in Southern States, Cuba, Porto Rico, eastern Mexico, and south to Costa Riea. “Sp. CHAR. Feathers of the upper parts brownish rufous or chestnut-brown, mar- gined narrowly and abruptly with ash-color; reddest on the lower part of the back and rump; the feathers all abruptly black in the central portion; this color visible on the interscapular region, where the rufous is more restricted. Crown blackish, with a cen- tral and superciliary stripe of yellowish tinged with brown, brightest in front of the eye. Bend of the wing bright yellow, lesser coverts tinged with greenish yellow. Quills and tail-feathers edged with whitish; tertiaries much variegated. Lower parts brownish yellow or buff, nearly white on the middle of the belly, darkest on the jugulum. The feathers of the upper breast and sides of the body with obsoletely darker centres, these sometimes wanting. Sides of breast against bend of wing with a few black streaks, usually concealed. Length about 5 inches; wing, 2.40; tail, 2.00. “The young of this species has the jugulum and sides of the breast streaked with black, much more distinct than im the adult, Q54 BIRDS OF ILLINOIS. and exhibiting a slight resemblance to C. henslowi. The upper parts are less varied. “Specimens from the Far West have the bill more slender, the reddish of the back considerably paler, the dark markings of the back restricted, the light stripe on the head with scarcely any yel- low, a decided spot in front of the eye quite yellow, and little or no ochraceous on the breast. “The young bird, with streaked jugulum, may be most readily distinguished from C. henslowi by the grayer plumage without any shade of chestnut or greenish yellow, the sparseness of streaks on the side, the absence of the two mandibular dusky stripes, and the broad dusky centres of the middle tail-feathers.” (Hist. N. Am. B.) This little bird is abundant in all cultivated portions of the State, as well as on the open prairie. To the rural population it is known as the “Grass-bird,” ‘“Ground-bird,” or “Grasshopper-bird,” the lat- ter appellation being derived from its grasshopper-like song, which it utters from the end of a fence-stake, the top of a tall weed-stalk, or as it sits upon the summit of a haycock in the meadow. The greater portion of its time is passed in the grass, in which it runs from the intruder, unseen, like a mouse; or, if pressed too closely, rises suddenly and flies a greater or less distance in a zigzag man- ner, exceedingly provoking to the collector, who finds it a difficult mark to hit. Ammodramus henslowii (Aud.) HENSLOW’S SPARROW. Popular synonym. Henslow’s Bunting. Emberiza henslowi Aup. Orn. Biog. i, 1831, 360; v, 1839, 498, pl. 77; Synop. 1889, 104; B. Am, iii, 1841, 75, pl. 163. Fringilla henslowi Nutt. Man. 2d ed. i, 1840, 571. Coturniculus henslowi BP. 1838.—BatRD, B. N. Am. 1858, 451; Cat. N. Am. B. 1859, No. 339. —COougEs, Key, 1872, 137; Check List, 1873, No. 163; 2d ed. 1882, No. 236; B. N. W. 1874, 133 (“henslowii”).—B. B. & R. Hist. N. Am. B. i, 1874, 550, pl. 25, fig. 55_Ripew. Nom. N. Am. B. 1881, No. 199. Has. Eastern United States, breeding north to Massachusetts, northern Illinois, ete. ; winters in Southern States. West to Loup Fork of the Platte. “Sp. CHar. Upper parts yellowish brown, the hood, neck, and upper parts of back tinged with greenish yellow. Interscapular feathers dark brown, suffused externally with bright brownish red; each feather with grayish borders. Tertiaries, rump and tail- feathers abruptly dark chestnut-brown, darkest centrally, paler externally,and narrowly margined with gray. Crown with a broad, black-spotted stripe on each side; these spots continued down to the back. Two narrow black mandibular stripes and one postocular on each side of the head, and an obscure black crescent or spot behind the auriculars, ae FRINGILLIDASN—THE FINCHES. 955 Under parts light brownish yellow, paler on the throat and abdomen. The jugulum, upper part of the breast,and the sides of the body conspicuously streaked with black. Edge of wing yellow. A strong tinge of pale chestnut on the wings and tail. The median tail-feathers and upper coverts chestnut or rufous brown, with sharply defined shaft- streaks of black. Length,5.25: wing,2.15; tail,2.15." (Mist. N. Am. B.) This species is related to C. passerinus, but readily distmguished by the well-marked streaks on breast and sides, the greenish yellow, not chestnut-brown, of head and nape, and the two mandibular dusky stripes. The middle tail-feathers are reddish with only a very narrow sharply defined median shaft-streak of black, mstead of haying the greater portion of the centre dusky with scalloped edges. Henslow’s Sparrow is an exceedingly common or even abundant species in Illinois, but is much more local than its relative, the Yellow-winged Sparrow. The writer first met with it on Fox Prarie, Richland county, im June, 1871, having his attention attracted to it by its peculiar note. - It was very abundant, the males being perched on tall weed-stalks, uttermg incessantly their rude and feeble, but emphatic “song” sounding like pillut, or sewick, the head being thrown back and the tail inclming forward underneath the bird, in the manner of C. passerinus. Twelve years later it was exceedingly numerous on the small remaining patch of open prairie (160 acres im extent) in the same locality, and also in a similar bit of prairie of equal extent which marked the last vestige of the once exten- sive but since populous and well-cultivated Sugar Creek Prairie, several miles to the southeast. These birds he very close, allowing themselves to be almost trod- den on before flymg; and, notwithstanding a very large number of females were shot which had eyidently been startled from their nests, only one nest could be found. They had probably run some distance through the grass before flymg, thus rendering search fruitless. Mr. Nelson states that in Cook county it is a rather common resident on the prairies, arriving May 12 to 20, and leaving the first of September. In Richland county the writer found it exceed- ingly numerous during the latter part of October, 1882, in company with smaller numbers of C. lecontei, inhabitmg the dead grass in the damper portions of the meadows. My. H. K. Coale writes me that he found it to be a common summer resident in a certain piece of wet prairie overgrown with bushes at Toleston, Lake county, Indiana. 256 BIRDS OF ILLINOIS. During the summer of 1879, the writer found this species to be very common in Fairfax county, Virginia, about five miles from ~ Washington. Walking along the road at dusk, a few stars haying already made their appearance, he was surprised to hear the pe- culiar note which he had last heard on Fox Prairie, eight years previously. Soon numbers were heard on every hand, the locality being a rather narrow valley between low hills, the lower ground being chiefly damp meadow-land. Returning a few days after with a friend, several of the birds were secured. A nest found in this locality the following summer is thus described by Mr. P. L. Jouy, of Washington, in the ‘Nuttall Bulletin” for January, 1881, pp. 57, 58: “Nest rather rude and irregularly shaped, composed externally of coarse grass, lined with exceedingly fine grass-tops circularly dis- posed and well finished, but without any horse-hair; no other ma- terial than grass was used in its construction. The nest is about four inches in diameter, about two inches in heighth, and two inches inside diameter; it was placed in the centre of a large clump of wild clover (Trifolium agrarium), and rested directly on the ground without any appearance of a cavity. The clover’ had grown up about a foot or more in height and completely surrounded the nest, which was only discovered by parting it. The female was secured as she flew from the nest. The eggs, four in number, are much blotched and speckled all over with a mixture of madder-brown and sepia, the color becoming more confluent on the larger end; there are also a few dashes and dots of very dark sepia, almost black, scattered among the spots. One of the eggs has a number of large blotches of a lighter tmt than the spots scattered all over it so as to almost form a ground tint for the spots. The ground color is a delicate greenish white. The measurements, in hundredths of inches, are as follows: .75x.60, .75x.58, .75x.56, .75x.60. The eggs, taken June 38, contained large embryos withm four or five days of hatchmg. As I took full-fledged young last year on the 12th of July, they undoubtedly raise two broods in a season. “The above described nest and eggs were taken in the locality where Mr. Ridgway found the birds last year (see this Bulletin, Vol. IV., p. 288), near Falls Church, Fairfax Co., Va. They are more or less common in all suitable places, ai Fe a dozen pairs breeding in this and the adjoining meadows. “Since writing the above, two fully-fledged young birds have been taken (June 6) in the same place. The birds have been also seen FRINGILLIDE—THE FINCHES. 957 and heard singing at Ball’s Cross Roads, in Virginia, about two miles nearer the District than the other locality. Besides the char- acteristic note of see-wick, they have quite a song, which may fairly be represented by the syllables sis-r-r-rit-srit-srit, with the accent on the first and last parts. This song is often uttered while the bird takes a short flight upward; it then drops down again into the tangled weeds and grasses, where it is almost impossible to follow it.” Ammodramus leconteii (Aud.) LECONTE’S SPARROW. Popular synonyms. Leconte’s Bunting; Yellow Sparrow (Manitoba). Emberiza leconteii AUD. B. Am. viii, 1843,338 pl. 488. Coturniculus lecontii Bp. 1850.—BatrD, B. N. Am. 1858 481; Cat. N. Am. B. 1859, No. 340.— Cougs, Key, 1872,137; Cheek List, 1873, No. 164; 2d ed. 1882, No. 237.—B. N. W. 1874, 135.—B. B. & R. Hist. N. Am. B. i, 1874, 552, pl. 25, fig. 6.ttpaw. Nom. N. Am. B. 1881, No. 200, Has. Eastern portion of the Great Plains of the United States, from Manitoba (in sum- mer) to central Texas (in winter). In winter migrating through the prairie districts of the Mississippi Valley to South Carolina, Alabama, and Florida. Sp. Coan. Billmuch more slenderthan (. henslowi. First quill longest, the rest diminished rapidly. Tail emarginate and rounded, with the feathers acute. Upper parts light yellowish red, streaked with brownish black; the margins of the feathers and seapu- lars pale yellowish white. Tail-feathers dusky,margined with light yellowish. Lower parts, with the cheeks and a broad band over the eyes, fine buff. Medial line yellowish anteriorly, nearly white behind. The buff extending to the femorals and along the sides, streaked with brownish black. Throat,neck,and upper parts of the breast, without any streaks, and plain buff. Adult male (No. 65,815, U. S. Nat. Mus.). Ground-color of the head white, tinged with buff on the maxillw,and with ash on the auriculars; crown with two broad black stripes, separated by a narrow medial one of whitish; nuchal feathers bright rufous, edged with ashy white, and shafted with black; dorsal feathers black, broadly edged exteriorly with white, and interiorly narrowly skirted withrufous. Beneath entirely white, tinged on the throat with buff, and streaked on the sides—from the breast to the flanks—with black. Length, 5.00; extent, 7.10; wing, 2.10; tail, 2.00; culmen, .42; tarsus, .68. (August 19; plhimage much worn and faded.) Adult female (No. 65,814, U. S. Nat. Mus.). Resembling the male, but, being in less abraded plumage, the colors more pronounced. The bandis deep buff (just as in Ammo- dramus caudacutus), the auriculars and lores distinctly grayish white, and the medial stripe of the crown ashy white, except the anterior third, which is buff. On the lower parts, the whole lower side of the head, and the entire breast, sides, flanks, and tibi:e, are deep buff, the sides sharply streaked wi h black. The abdomen anal region and crissum are pure white,in marked contrast. Length, 5.00; extent,7.00; wing, 2.00; tail, 2.10; culmen, 45; tarsus, .70. . Young. Ground-color above dull buff, below white; the pattern of the old birds seen in the markings, which, however, are pure black, all reddish and brown tints being absent —except on the wings and tail, which are nearly as in the adult. In its unspotted breast, the rufous feathers of the hind-neck, the absence of submalar stripes, and apparently in the markings of the wings, it is most like (. passerinus. Although the middle tail-feathers 958 BIRDS OF ILLINOIS. have the narrow stripe of C. henslowi, the bill is much smaller, as stated by Audubon, than in the others, and is distinctly bluish. The vertical stripe is deep buff anteriorly, instead of buff through- out, and the superciliary stripe is continuously buff, mstead of yellow anterior to, and ashy behind, the eye. In the comparative length of wing and tail, it is most nearly related to henslowi, but the bill is very much narrower than in either. This elegant little sparrow is, in some localities at least, an abund- ant migrant in Illmois. In the latter part of October, 1882, I found it numerous in meadows on Sugar Creek Prairie, Richland county, in company with C. henslowi, but preferring the rank grass near streams. It resembled the latter species in its actions, beimg diffi- cult to flush and flymg in a very zigzag manner, but was readily distinguished by its more slender build and conspicuously lighter or more ochraceous coloration. But few specimens have as yet been taken in the northeastern portion of the State. Mr. Nelson, in his catalogue, mentions it as follows: “A rare migrant. I obtained a fine specimen May 18, 1875, at Riverdale, Illinois, and by my notes I see that a second specimen was observed the 21st of the same month near where the first was obtained. - The specimen in my possession was flushed from a small depression in the prairie near the Calumet river, where the moisture had caused an early growth of coarse grass, about three inches in height. After darting off in an erratic course a few rods, it sud- denly turned, and alightmg ran rapidly through the grass, from which it was with difficulty started again and secured.” Mr. Chas. K. Worthen, of Warsaw, writes me as follows concern- ing this species: “T have taken in the last two years, on the prairie here, some twenty specimens; have taken them both in fall and spring, as well as during the summer, and am satisfied they breed here, though I have not been able to find their nests or eggs. I have found them on low swampy prairies in the Mississippi bottoms, and on dry bluffs; but generally in swampy or marshy ground.” (See “Nuttall Bulletin,” January, 1880, p. 32.) Supcenus Passerculus Bonaparrtn. Passerculus Bonar. Comp. List Birds, 1838 33. Type, Fringilla savanna WILs. “GEN. CHAR. Bill moderately conical; the lower mandible smaller; both outlines nearly straight. Tarsus about equal to the middle toe. Lateral toes about equal, their eee © ees FRINGILLIDE—THE FINCHES. 959 claws falling far short of the middle one. Hind toe much longer than the lateral ones, reaching as far as the middle of the middle claw; its claws moderately curyed. Wings unusually long, reaching to the middle of the tail,and almost to the end of the upper coy- verts. The tertials nearly or quite as long as the primaries; the first primary longest. The tail is quite short, considerably shorter than the wings; as long as from the carpal joint to the end of the secondaries. Itis emarginate, and slightly rounded; the feathers pointed and narrow.” (Hist. N. Am. B.) The essential characters of this genus lie in the elongated wings (longer than the tail), the tertials equal to the primaries, the first quill almost longest. The legs are long, the outstretched toes reach- ing to the end of the tail; the lateral toes considerable shorter than the middle, which is not much longer than the hinder. The tail is short, narrow, and emarginate; the feathers acute. Ammodramus sandwichensis savanna (Wils.) SAVANNA SPARROW. Popular synonyms, Grass Bird; Ground Bird. Fringilla savanna Wius. Am. Orn. iii, 1811, 55, pl. 22, fig. 2; iv, 1811, 72, pl. 34, fig. 4—Nutr. Man. i, 1832, 489.—Aup. Orn. Biog. ii, 1834, 63; v, 1839, 516, pl. 109. Emberiza savanna Bp. 1838.—Barrp, B. N. Am. 1858, 442; Cat. N. Am. B. 1859, No. 332.— Cougs, Key, 1872, 185; Check List 1873, No. 159; B. N. W. 1874, 127.—B. B. & R. Hist. N. Am. B. i, 1874, 534, pl. 24, fig. 8. Passerculus sandwichensis savanna Ripew. Nom. N. Am. B. 1881, No. 193 a.—CovuEs, 2d Check List, 1882, No. 227. Has. Eastern North America, breeding chiefly north of, and wintering south of, the parallel of 40°; Cuba. (The typical race of this species inhabits the north Pacific coast, from Vancouver Island to Unlashka. It is similar in colors to savanna, but is decidedly larger. In other parts of western North America, including Alaska, with the exception of the coast district, the smaller, paler, and more slender-billed P. sandwichensis alau- dinus replaces both the other forms.) “Sp. CHar. Feathers of the upper parts generally with a central streak of blackish brown; the feathers of the back with a slight rufous suffusion laterally; the feathers edged with gray, which is lightest on the scapulars, and forms there two gray stripes. Crown with a broad median stripe of yellowish gray. A superciliary stripe from the bill to the back of the head, eyelids and edge of the elbow, yellow, paler behind. A yellowish white mandibular stripe curving behind the ear-coverts, and margined above and below by brown. The lower margin is a series of thickly crowded spots on the sides of the throat, which are also found on the sides of the neck, across the upper part of the breast and on the sides of the body; a dusky line back of the eye, making three on the side of the head (including the two mandibular). A few faint spots on the throatand chin. Rest 260 BIRDS OF ILLINOIS. of under parts white. Length, 5.50; wing, 2.70; tail, 2.10. Young. Ground-color of the upper parts (except wings and tail) light ochraceous, more brownish on top of head, upper part of back, and on upper tail-coverts, the streaks blacker and more conspicuous than in the adult. Beneath with an ochraceous tinge anteriorly, the streaks broader and deeper black than in the adult, though less sharply defined. The infra-maxillary streak expanded into a broad, blackish elongated blotch.” (Hist. V. Am. B.) The Savanna Sparrow is one of those inconspicuous little birds which hide im the grass or run stealthily along the fences or fur- rows, having nothing special in their appearance or habits to attract particular attention. It is a very abundant species, at suitable seasons, throughout the eastern portions of North America, breed- ing in the more northern states and northward, and wintermg in the more southern portions of the Union. In portions of Illinois the species is, to a greater or less extent, a permanent resident. At least, the writer has in summer taken its nest and eggs, and in midwinter shot specimens of the bird itself, at Mount Carmel. It was, however, very rare there in summer, and, except in mild seasons, by no means common in winter, being chiefly observed as a sprig and fall migiant. The general habits of the Savanna Sparrow are very similar to those of the Vesper Sparrow,—like the latter, frequenting meadows and nesting on the ground. Genus POOCAHTES Bairrp. Poocetes Barry, Birds N. Am. 1858. 447. Type, Fringilla graminea GMEL. “Gen. CHAR. Bill rather large; upper outline slightly decurved towards the end, lower straight; commissure slightly concave. Tarsus about equal to the middle toe; outer toe a little longer than the inner, its claw reaching to the concealed base of the middle claw; hind toe reaching to the middle of the middle claw. Wings usually long, reaching to the middle of the tail as far as the coverts, and pointed; the primaries con- siderably longer than the secondaries, which are not much surpassed by the tertiaries; second and third quills longest; first little shorter, about equal to the fourth, shorter than the tail; the outer tail-feathers scarcely shorter; the feathers rather stiff; each one acu- minate and sharply pointed; the feathers broad nearly to the end, when they are obliquely truncate. Streaked with brown above everywhere; beneath, on the breast and sides. The lateral tail-feather is white. Shoulder chestnut-brown.” “The essential characters of the genus consist in the long and pointed wings longer than the tail and without long tertials; and the rather stiff forked tail, with its acute feathers.” (Hist. N. Am. B.) FRINGILLIDA—THE FINCHES. 261 Pooceetes gramineus (Gmel.) VESPER SPARROW. Popular synonyms. Bay-winged Bunting; Grass Finch, Fringiila graminea GMEL. 8. N. i,1788,922.—Aup. Orn. Biog. i, 1831, 473; v, 1839, 502, pl. 94.— Nutr. Man. i, 1832, 182, 482. Emberiza graminea Wires. Am. Orn. iv, 1811, 51, pl. 31, fig. 5.—Aup. Synop. 1839, 102; B. Am. iii, 1841, 65, pl. 153. Poocetes gramineus Barrp,B. N. Am. 1858, 447; Cat. N. Am. B. 1859, No. 337.—CouEs, Key, 1872, 136; Cheek List, 1873, No. 161; 2d ed. 1882, No. 232; B. N. W. 1874, 129 (Powcetes). —B. B. & R. Hist. N. Am. B. i, 1874, 545.—Ripew. Nom. N. Am. B. 1881, No. 197. Has. Eastern United States and British Provinces, north to the Saskatchewan, in the interior; breeding chiefly north of 38° and wintering chiefly south of the same latitude, within the United States. (Replaced in the Western Province by P. gramineus confinis, distinguished by paler colors with narrower streaks, more slender bill, ete.) “Sp. CHAR. Tailfeathers rather acute. Above light yellowish brown; the feathers everywhere streaked abruptly with dark brown, even on the sides of the neck, which are paler. Beneath yellowish (sometimes reddish) white; on the jugulum and sides of neck and body streaked with brown. A faint light superciliary and maxillary stripe; the latter margined above and below with dark brown; the upper stripe continued around the ear-coverts, which are darker than the brown color elsewhere. Wings with the shoulder light chestnut-brown,and with two dull whitish bands along the ends of the coverts; the outer edge of the secondaries also is white. Exposed portion of outer tail- feather and edge and tip of the second, white. Length, about 6.25; wing, 3.10; tail, 2.50; bill, .83 from frontal feathers to point, by .33 in depth at base; tarsus, .72. Bill yellow, dusky above; legs yellow. (Measurements of No. 10,147, male, Washington, D. C.)” This plainly colored bird is found throughout the State, in suit- able localities, as a summer resident, and an occasional winter resident in the southern portion. Except in the more northern counties, however, it is abundant only durmg the migrations, the majority of them passing to the northward to breed. It mhabits during summer open grassy places, especially meadows, and but for its exceedingly sweet song would scarcely be noticed, so unob- trusive is it in its habits and appearance. The song of this species is thus described by Mr. John Burroughs, in his chaimmg book called ‘““Wake Robin”: “Have you heard the song of the Field-Sparrow?” he asks. “If you have lived in a pastoral country, with broad upland pastures, you could hardly have missed him. Wilson, I believe, calls him the Grass-Finch, and was evidently unacquainted with his powers of song. The two white lateral quills of his tail, and his habit of running and skulking a few yards in advance of you as you walk through the fields, are sufficient to identify him. Not in meadows or orchards, but in high, breezy pasture-grounds, will you look for 262 BIRDS OF ILLINOIS. him. His song is most noticeable after sundown, when other birds are silent, for which reason he has been aptly called the Vesper Sparrow. The farmer followmg his team from the field at dusk catches his sweetest strain. His song is not so brisk and varied as that of the Song Sparrow, being softer and wilder, sweeter and more plaintive. Add the best parts of the lay of the latter to the sweet vibrating chant of the Wood Sparrow (Spizella pusilla), and you have the evening hymn of the Vesper-bird—the poet of the plain unadorned pastures. Go to those broad, smooth, up-lying fields, where the cattle and sheep are grazing, and sit down on one of the warm, clean stones, and listen to this song. On every side, near and remote, from out the short grass which the herds are cropping, the strain rises. Two or three long, silver notes of rest and peace, ending in some subdued trills or quavers, constitute each separate song. Often you will catch only one of the bars, the breeze having blown the minor part away. Such unambitious, unconscious melody! It is one of the most characteristic sounds in Nature. The grass, the stones, the stubble, the furrow, the quiet herds, and the warm twilight among the hills, are all subtilely expressed in this song; this is what they are at least capable of.” Genus CHONDESTES Swatrnson. Chondestes SWAINSON, Phil. Mag. i, 1827,435. Type, Chondestes strigatus Sw.,=Frin- , gilla grammaca SAY. “GEN. CHAR. Bill swollen; both outlines gently curved; the lower mandible as high as the upper; the commissure angulated at the base,and then slightly sinuated. Lower mandible rather narrower at the base than the length of the gonys; broader than the upper. Tarsi moderate, about equal to the middle toe; lateral toes equal and very short, reaching but little beyond the middle of the penultimate joint of the middle toe, and falling considerably short of the base of middle claw. Wings long, pointed, reaching nearly to the middle of the tail; the tertials not longer than the secondaries; the first quill shorter than the second and third, which are equal. The tail is moderately long, considerably graduated, the feathers rather narrow,and elliptically rounded at the end. “Streaked on the back. Head with well defined large stripes. Beneath white, with a pectoral spot. Only one species recognized,” (Hist. NV. Am. B.) Chondestes grammacus (Say). ‘ LARK SPARROW. Popular synonyms. Lark Finch; Potato Bird (“Farmers about Saint Louis”; CoALz). Fringilla grammaca Savy, Long’s Exp, i, 1823, 189,—NuTtT. Man. i, 1832, 480—Aup. Orn. Biog. v, 1839, 17, pl, 390, FRINGILLIDAX—THE FINCHES. 263 Chondestes grammaca Br. 1838.—Batrp, B. N. Am. 1858, 456, (part); Cat. N. Am. B. 1859, No. 344, (part).—Covurs, Key, 1872, 146, (part); Check List, 1873, No. 186 (part); 2d ed. 1882, No. 281 (part), (““grammica’); B. N. W. 1874, 159 (part).—B. B. & R. Hist. N. Am. B. i, 1874, 562, pl. 31, fig. 1—Ripe@w. Nom. N. Am. B. 1881, No. 204. Emberiza graminaca AUD. Synop. 1839, 101; B. Am. iii, 1841, 63, pl. 158. Has. Mississippi Valley, north to Iowa, Wisconsin, and southern Michigan, east, regularly to Indiana, western Kentucky, ete., occasionally to Ohio, and casually to Massa- chusetts and the District of Columbia; west to eastern portion of the Great Plains; south to eastern Texas. “Sp. Coan. Hood chestnut, tinged with black towards the forehead, and with a median stripe and superciliary stripe of dirty whitish. Rest of upptr parts pale grayish olive, the interscapular region alone streaked with dark brown. Beneath white, a round spot on the upper part of the breast, a broad maxillary stripe cutting off a white stripe above, and a short line from the billto the eye, continued faintly behind it, black. A white crescent under the eye, bordered below by black and behind by chestnut, on the ear-coverts. Tail-feathers dark brown, the outermost edged externally and with more than terminal third white, with transverse outline; the white decreasing to the next to innermost, tipped broadly with white. Length, 6inches; wing, 3.30.” (Hist. N. Am. B.) The colors of the female are slightly duller than in the male, the chestnut less bright, the black not so intense; the pattern, however, is the same. The young bird has the breast and throat with a good many spots of dark brown instead of the single large one on the breast. The other markings are more indistinct. This handsomely marked bunting (for it is not a true sparrow, nor a finch) is found abundantly in all suitable localities, its favor- ite resort bemg fertile prairies and meadows adjoming strips or groves of timber. In Ihnois it evinces a special fondness for corn- fields, in which it builds its nest at the foot of the stalks, while the male sings from the fence or the top of a small tree by the roadside. ‘ It has been a matter of surprise to us that writers who have de- scribed the habits of western birds have not mentioned more par- ticularly the vocal capabilities of this bird, which in sprightliness and continuity of song has few, if any, rivals among the North American F'ringillide. Words entirely fail to describe its song, which, among the oak groves of California, as well as on the prairies of Illinois, is pre-eminent for the qualities above mentioned. As the bird perches upon the summit of a small tree, a fence post, er a telegraph wire, his notes may be heard throughout the day— in the morning before those of any other, and late in the evening when all else but this unweary songster are silent; indeed, often have we been awakened at midnight by a sudden outburst of silvery warblings from one of this species. This song is composed of a series of chants, each syllable rich, loud, and clear, interspersed 264 BIRDS OF ILLINOIS. with emotional trills. At the beginning the song reminds one some- what of that of the Indigo Bird (Passerina cyanea), but the notes are louder and more metallic, and thei delivery more vigorous. Though seemingly hurried, it is one continued gush of sprightly music ; now gay, now melodious, and then tender beyond description,— the very expression of emotion. At intervals the singer falters, as if exhausted by exertion, and his voice becomes scarcely audible; but suddenly reviving in his joy, it is resumed in all its vigor, until he appears to be really overcome by the effort. The range of this species is probably pretty general within the State except in those districts over which forests still largely pre- vail. In Cook county, according to Mr. Nelson, (Bull. Hssex. Inst. Vol. VIII., 1876, p. 107), it is ‘‘a common summer resident. Arrives the last of April or first of May, nesting the last of this month; departs August 25th to September 10th. Frequents barren fields and borders of prairies containing a sparse growth of small trees and rank weeds. Its nest is generally placed at the foot of some rank weed in a bare piece of ground. My observations regarding the song and general habits of the species, comcide with those of Mr. Ridgway as given in North American Birds (Vol. I., p. 561).” The memoranda of Mr. H. K. Coale, relating to this species, which he has kindly allowed me to quote here, are as follows: “This is a rather rare summer resident. About once a year I run across a stray pair on a burnt prairie or by the road. In July, 1883, saw one on a bare piece of land near woods, and watched him for half an hour or more; was quite unsuspicious and kept about the same place picking at the weed seeds. In St. Clair county I saw one pair; it is there called “potato bird”; people say that few survive the Paris green which they eat with the potato bugs.” Genus ZONOTRICHIA Swainson. Zonotrichia Swans. Fauna Bor.-Am. ii, 1831,493. Type, Emberiza leucophrys Forst. “GEN. CHAR. Body rather stout. Bill conical, slightly notched, somewhat compress- ed, excavated inside; the lower mandible rather lower than the upper; gonys slightly convex; commissure nearly straight. Feet stout; tarsus rather longer than middle toe; the lateral toes very nearly equal. Hind toe longer than the lateral ones; the claws of the latter just reaching to base of middle one. Inner claw contained twice in its toe proper; claws all slender and considerably curved. Wings moderate, not reaching to the middle of the tail, but beyond the rump; secondaries and tertials equal and considerably Jess than longest primaries; second and third quills longest, first about equal to the fifth, much longer than tertials, Tail rather long, moderately rounded; the feathers not very broad. “Back streaked. Rump and under parts immaculate, exceptin young. Head black, or with white streaks, entirely different from the back. a FRINGILLIDE—THE FINCHES. 265 “This genus embraces some of the most beautiful of American Sparrows, all of the largest s:'ze in their subfamily. “All the spec-es properly belonging to this genus are North Amer- ican; several South American species have, however, been assigned to it; but they are none of them strictly congeneric with those given below.” (Hist. N. Am. B.) Several Neotropical Fringillide have been referred to Zonotrichia, but none of them are strictly congeneric with the North American species, which together constitute a very distinctly circumscribed group. Z. quinquestriata Scu. & Sauy. and Z. mystacalis Hartu. are apparently referable to Amphispiza Couns, of which the Emberiza bilineata Cassix is typical, though they may possibly constitute a generic or subgeneric group by themselves; while Z. pileata (Bopp.), a species distributed extensively over Central and South America, comes nearer the genus Pyrgisoma. This species of Zonotrichia (as properly restricted) may be distin- guished as follows: A. No yellow supraloral spot, and throat not abruptly white. a. Crown black, without lighter median stripe, but sometimes squamated with pale or dull whitish. 1. Z.querula, Aduit: Crown, lores, chin, and throat, uniform deep black; beneath pure white, the sides striped with black; sides of head gray; back light gray- ish brown, streaked with brownish black. Young, first winter: Crown black, the feathers bordered with pale grayish brown, producing a sealed appearance; throat white, bordered on each side with a dusky streak; a blackish patch, or cluster of spots, on the jugulum; sides of head and neck buffy. b. Crown black or brown, divided by a white, buff or yellowish stripe. § Median stripe of crown white (in adult) or buff (in young). 2. Z.leucophrys. Lores black or brown. Aduit: Head-stripes black (one on each side of crown and one behind the eye) and white (one on middle of crown and one over the ear-coverts). Back lightash-gray, streaked with chestnut-brown; edge of wing white, breast clear light ash-gray. Young. first winter: Head- stripes chestnut-brown and dull buff; otherwise similartoadult. Youwng, first plumage: Crown dusky blackish on sides, the middle whitish streaked with dusky; throat and breast more or less streaked with dusky. 8. Z.gambeli.* Pattern of coloration exactly as in leucophrys, except that the lores are grayish white, or (in young) grayish buff, confluent with the light superciliary stripe. Median stripe of crown grayish white, much narrower than lateral black stripes; back olive- brownish, streaked with brownish black; edge of wing yellowish; whole throat, foreneck, etc., dingy gray. 4. Z.intermedia. Similar to Z. gambeli, but median stripe of crown pure white, wide as or wider than black lateralstripes; back ashy, streaked with chesnut- brown; edge of wing white; throat, etc., paleashy. (Colors exactly as in leu- cophrys,except as to the lores, which are grayish white instead of black.) *Confined to the Pacific Coast. 266 BIRDS OF ILLINOIS. §§ Forehead and fore part of crown yellow centrally. 5. Z,coronata. Middle of crown, anteriorly, bright greenish yellow (in adult) or olive-yellow (in young). Adult: Pileum black laterally, the median portion yel- low anteriorly, and ash-gray posteriorly. Plumage otherwise exactly asin Z. gambeli. Young, in first winter: No distinct stripes on crown, which is dull olive-yellowish, obscured by grayish brown, and streaked with dusky; the streaks more distinct posteriorly, and sometimes forming an ill-defined stripe on the side; otherwise, like the adult. : B. A yellow supraloral spot; throat abruptly white. 6. Z, albicollis. Adult: Two broad stripes on the crown, and a narrow one behind the eye, black; a white stripe in middle of crown, and one over ear-coverts, the latter becoming bright yellow over lores; ear-coverts and jugulum deep ash; back rusty brown, streaked with black. Young, first winter: Similar to adult, but head-stripes rusty dusky-brown and pale rusty buff, the yellow over the lores, and the white throat-patch, less distinct. Young, first plumage: Crown uniform snuff-brown, with a narrow whitish middle stripe; superciliary stripe dirty whitish, with no yellow over lores; jugulum streaked with dusky. Throat not abruptly white. Zonotrichia querula (Nutt.) HARRIS’S SPARROW. Popular synonym. Mourning Finch. Fringilla querula Nuvt. Man. 2d ed. i, 1840. 558. Zonotrichia querula GAMB. 1847.—Barrp, B. N. Am. 1858, 462; Cat. N. Am. B. 1859, No. 348. —CouEs, Key, 1872, 145; Check List 1878, No. 185; 2d ed. 1882, No. 280; B. N. W. 1874, 157.—B. B. & R. Hist. N. Am. B. i, 1874, 577, pl. 26, figs. 4,7,—Ripaw. Nom. N. Am. B. 1881, No. 205. Fringilla harrisii AuD. B. AM. vii, 1848, 331, 484. Fringilla comata Max. Reise Nord-Am. ii, 1841, 352. Has. Eastern border of the Great Plains,from northern Minnesota and Dakota (in summer) to central and eastern Texas (in winter). East, irregularly (?) to Wisconsin, Illi- nois, lowa, and Missouri. “Sp. CHAR. Hood and nape, sides of head anterior to and including the eyes, chin, throat, and afew spots in the middle of the upper part of the breast and on its sides, black. Sides of head and neck ash-gray, with the trace of a narrow crescent back of the ear-covorts. Interscapular region of back, with the feathers reddish brown, streaked with dark brown. Breast and belly clear white. Sides of body light brownish, streaked. Two narrow white bands across the greater and middle coverts. Length about 7 inches; wing, 3.40; tail, 3.65. “The bill of this species appears to be yellowish red. More imma- ture specimens vary in haying the black of the head more re- stricted, the nape and sides of the head to the bill pale reddish brown, lighter on the latter region. Others have the feathers of the anterior portion of the hood edged with whitish. In. all there is generally a trace of black anterior to the eye.” (Hist. N. Am. B.) Considering the length of time it has been known (more than 40 years), comparatively little has been learned regarding the habits of this FRINGILLIDE—THE FINCHES. - 267 species. Its nest and eggs are to this date (June, 1886) unknown, as is also its exact range during the breeding season. The only specimens of this species known to the writer as having been taken in Illinois were those recorded in the ‘Nuttall Bulletin” for January, 1880, pp. 30, 31, one of which was obtained at Bloom- ington, in the spring of 1877, the other at Normal, on the 14th of November, 1879, both by Mr. W. H. Garman. Several examples have been taken in southern Wisconsin, near the Illinois line, one of which, shot at Racine, by Dr. Hoy, was mentioned by Mr. Nel- son in his list, while three others, reported to me by Mr. H. K. Coale, were collected at LaCrosse, October 8, 1883. Zonotrichia leucophrys (Forst.) WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW. Emberiza leucophrys Forst. Philos. Trans. 1xii, 1772, 382, 403, 426.—Wuins. Am. Orn. fy, 1811, 49, pl. 31, fig. 4. Fringilla leucophrys Br. 1828.—Nutr. Man. i, 1832, 479.—AupD. Orn. Biog. ii, 1834, 88; v, 1839, 515, pl. 144; Synop. 1839,121; B. Am. iii, 1841, 157, pl. 192. Fringilla (Zonotrichia) leucophrys Sw. & Ricu. F. B.-A. ii, 1831, 255. Zonotrichia leucophrys BP. 1838.—BarrpD, B. N. Am. 1858, 458; Cat. N. Am. B. 1859, No.” 345.—CovugEs, Key, 1872, 144; Check List, 1873, No. 183; 2d ed. 1882, No. 276; B. N. W. 1874, 154.—B. B. & R. Hist. N. Am. B. i, 1874, 566, pl. 25, flgs. 9, 10.—RipGw. Nom. N. Am. B. 1881, No. 206. | Has. Breeding from northern Labrador to the Rocky Mountains, and south to at least latitude 48° on the Sierra Nevada in California and the higher ranges of Colorado. In winter, most of the eastern United States, wintering chiefly south of 38°; also, portions of Mexico, including Cape St. Lueas. “Sp. CHAR. Head, above, upper half of loral region from the bill, and a narrow line through and behind the eye to the occiput, black; a longitudinal patch in the middle of the crown, and a short line from above the anterior corner of the eye, the two confluent on the occiput, white. Sides of the head, forepart of breast, and lower neck all round, pale ash, lightest beneath, and shading insensibly into the whitish of the belly and chin; sides of the belly and under tail-coverts tinged with yellowish brown. Interscapular region streaked broadly with dark chestnut-brownish. Edges of the tertiaries brownish ehestnut. Two white bands on the wing. Female. Similar but smaller; immature birds in first winter, with the black and white stripes on the crown replaced by dark chestnut-brown and brownish yellow. Length, 7.10 inches; wing, 3.25. Young of the year thickly streaked with dusky on the breast. The lateral stripes of the crown dull brown, the median one streaked whitish.” ey “The white of the crown separates two black stripes on either side, rather narrower than itself. The black lme behind the eye is continued anterior to it into the black at the base of the bill. The ‘lower eyelid is white. There are some obscure cloudings of darker; 268 BIRDS OF ILLINOIS. on the neck above. The rump is immaculate. No white on the tail except very obscure tips. The white on the wings crosses the ends of the middle and greater coverts.” (Hist. N. Am. B.) This fine sparrow is usually an abundant migrant in the north- ern portions of the State, and a more or less common winter resi- dent in the southern parts. At Mount Carmel it was often abundant throughout the winter, frequenting, during the coldest weather, the door-yards and gardens, in company with Snowbirds (Janco hyemalis), Tree Sparrows, White-throated Sparrows, Yellow-rump Warblers, and other familiar species. Its clear, but rather subdued, whistling song was often heard just before its departure for the north. This song much resembles that of the White-throated Sparrow, but is less monotonous and rather more plaintive. “Among the birds that tarry briefly with us in the spring on their way to Canada and beyond,” writes Mr. John Burroughs, m Scribner’s, “there is none that I behold with so much pleasure as the White-crowned Sparrow. I have an eye out for him all through April and the first week in May. He is the rarest and most beautiful of the Sparrow kind. He is crowned as some hero or victor in the games. He is usually in company with his con- gener, the White-throated Sparrow, but seldom more than in the proportion of one to twenty of the latter. Contrasted with this bird, he looks like its more fortunate brother, upon whom some special distinction has been conferred, and who is, from the egg, of fer make and quality. His sparrow color, of ashen gray and brown, is very clear and bright, and his form graceful. His whole expression, however, culminates in a regular manner in his crown. The various tints of the bird are brought to a focus here and in- tensified, the lighter ones becoming white and the deeper ones nearly black. There is the suggestion of a crest also, from a habit this bird has of slightly elevating this part of its plumage, as if to make more conspicuous its pretty markings. They are great scratchers, and will often remain several minutes scratching in one place hike a hen. Yet, unlike the hen and like all hoppers, they scratch with both feet at once, which is by no means the best way to seratch.” FRINGILLIDE—THE FINCHES. 269 Zonotrichia albicollis (Gmel.) WHITE-THROATED SPARROW. Popular synonyms. Peabody Bird (New England); Yellow-browed Sparrow. Fringilla albicollis GMEL. S. N. i, 1788,926.—Wiis. Am. Orn. iii, 1811, 51, pl. 22, fig. 2. Zonotrichia albicollis Sw. 1837.—Batrp, B. N. Am. 1858, 403; Cat. N. Am. B. 1859, No. 349. —Covgs, Key, 1872, 144, fig. 88; Check List, 1873, No. 182,2d ed. 1882, No. 275; B. N. W. 1874, 151.—B. B. & R. Hist. N. Am. B. i, 1874, 574, pl. 26, fig. 10.—Ripew. Nom. N. Am. B. 1881, No. 209. Fringilla pennsylranica Latu. Ind. Orn. 1790, 446—AupD. Orn. Biog. i, 1831, 42, pl. 8; Synop. 1839, 121; B. Am. iii, 1841, 153, pl. 191. Has. Eastern North America, breeding from northern United States north to the “Fur Countries.” Winters in the United States, chiefly south of 40°,and west to the borders of the Great Plains; accidental west to Utah and Oregon; also,in England. “Sp. CHar. Two black stripes on the crown, separated by a median one of white. A broad superciliary stripe from the base of the mandible to the occiput, yellow as far as the middle of the eye, and white behind this. A broad black streak on the side of the head from behind the eye. Chin white, abruptly defined against the dark ash of the sides of the head and upper part of the breast, fading into white on the belly,and mar- gined by a narrow black maxillary line. Edge of wing and axillaries yellow. Back and edges of secondaries rufous brown, the former streaked with dark brown. Two narrow white bands across the wing-coverts. Length, 7inches; wing, 3.10; tail, 3.20. Young of the year not in the collection.” (Hist. N. Am. B.) Few birds, if any, are more abundant or more generally distrib- uted than is the present species, during the winter, throughout the more eastern United States. From the eastern border of the Great Plains to the Atlantic coast it is decidedly the most numerous of the Fringillide,—every hedge-row, brier-patch, brush-p:le or similar place beg frequented by dozens or scores of individuals. During the day these occupy themselves silently in gleaning for food among the dead leaves, but at the approach of dusk congregate more closely together, and before seeking their ‘‘roost,” in the thicker growths of a swamp, in brush-piles, etc., become quite noisy, callmg to one another with a sharp, penetrating, almost metallic chirp, which is peculiarly in accord with a cold, drear winter evening. In the spring, before their departure for the north, the males occa- sionally whistle their monotonous but exceeding clear and plaintive chant, sounding like pe-pe-pe body, pe body, pe body,—on which account the species has in parts of New England received the name of “Peabody Bird.” Genus SPIZELLA Boraparte. Spizella Bonap. Geog. and Comp. List, 1838, 33. Type, Fringilla canadensis LAtH., =F. monticola GMEL. “Gen. CHAR. Bill conical, the outlines slightly curved; the lower mandible decidedly larger than the upper; the commissure gently sinuated; the roof of the mouth not 270 BIRDS OF ILLINOIS. knobbed. Feet slender; tarsus rather longer than the middle toe; the hinder toe a little longer than the outer lateral, which slightly exceeds the inner; the outer claw reaching the base of the middle one, and halfas longasitstoe. Claws moderately curved. Tertiaries and secondaries nearly equal; wing somewhat pointed, reaching not quite to the middle of the tail. First quill alittle shorter than the second and equal to the fifth; third longest. Tailrather long, moderately forked, and divaricated atthe tip; the feathers rathernarrow. Backstreaked; rumpand beneathimmaculate. Young streaked beneath. “This genus differs from Zonotrichia principally in the smaller size, and longer and forked instead of rounded tail. “Birds of the year of this genus are very difficult to distinguish, even by size, except in monticola. The more immature birds are also very closely related. In these the entire absence of streaks on a plumbeous head point to atrigularis; the same character in a red- dish cap, and a reddish upper mandible, to pusilla; a dusky loral spot, with dark streaks, and generally a rufous shade on top of head, to socialis. S. breweri, with a streaked head, lacks the dusky lore and chestnut shade of feathers. S. pallida generally has a median light stripe in the cap, and a dusky mandibular line.” (Hist. N. Am. B.) With a single exception, all the known species of this genus are North American, though one of them (S. atrigularis) barely comes within our borders in Arizona and southern California. The single purely extralimital species is S. pinetorwm Satvin, of the Guatemalan highlands. It is closely related to S. socialis, but is evidently distinct. Leaving out S. atrigularis and S. wortheni,* the species inhab- iting the United States may be characterized as follows: CoMMON CHARACTERS. Back brownish, sharply streaked with black; rump plain grayish; wings with two light bands; lower parts unstreaked, except in young. A. Crown rufous in adults. a. Maxilla black, the mandible yellow; a dusky spot on the jugulum. 1. §.monticola, Adult: Crown and outer webs of scapulars and tertials, bright rufous; two distinct white bands on the wing; sides of head and neck ash-gray, lighter on throat; a pale gray superciliary stripe, whitish anteriorly; a rufous postocular stripe; a dusky spot in middle of the jugulum. b. Bill wholly black or reddish brown. 2. §, pusilla. Bill wholly light reddish brown. Crown dull rufous; back dull rufous, the feathers edged with grayish and streaked centrally with black; outer edges of tertials pale grayish brown; sides of head pale ash-gray, with a dull rufous streak behind the eye; wing with two indistinct bands. Young: Crown and back dull grayish brown, without rufous; breast narrowly and in- distinctly streaked with dusky. 3. S.socialis. Bill wholly black in adults; dullreddish brown in young. Crown bright rufous, becoming black anteriorly; a whitish superciliary stripe; a blackish streak behind the eye; ear-coverts, sides of neck and rump, ash-gray. Young: Crown and back brown, broadly streaked with black; breast and sides thickly streaked with dusky. * Snizella wortheni RipGw. Proce. U.S. Nat. Mus. vii, Aug. 22, 1884," 959, Silver City, New Mexico. (Dedicated to Mr. Chas. K. Worthen, of Warsay, Illinois.) — FRINGILLIDE—THE FINCHES. 271 B Crown grayish brown, streaked with black, at all ages. 4. §. pallida. Adult: Crown streaked black and brown, divided by a distinct stripe of light brownish gray; nape ash-gray; ear-coverts light brownish, edged above and below bya dusky streak; distinct maxillary and superciliary stripes of brownish white, the former bordered underneath by a dusky bridle; beneath continuous white the breast and sides faintly shaded with grayish brown. Young: Head more tinged with fulvous,and the markings less dis- tinct; breast streaked with dusky. 5. S.breweri. Adult: Crown pale grayish brown, streaked with black,and with- out middle stripe; nape and back similar; no distinct superciliary or maxillary stripe,and ear-coverts but slightly darker than adjoining portions. Young: Similar, but breast streaked with dusky. Spizella monticola (Gmel.) TREE SPARROW. Popular synonyms. Canadian Sparrow; Winter Chippy. Fringilla monticola GMEL. S. N. i, 1788, 912. Spizella monticola BatRD, B. N. Am. 1858, 472; Cat. N. Am. B. 1859, No. 357.—Cougs, Key, 1872, 142; Check List, 1873, No. 177; 2d ed. 1882,No. 268; B. N. W. 1874, 146.—B. B. &R. Hist. N. Am. B. ii, 1874, 3, pl. 27, fig. 5. Fringilla canadensis Latu. Ind. Orn. i, 1790, 434.—Nurr. Man. i, 1832, 495.—Aup. Orn. Biog. ii, 1834, 511; y, 1839, 504, pl. 188. Emberiza canadensis Sw. & RicH. 1831—Aup. Synop. 1839, 105; B. Am. iii, 1841, 83, pl. 166. Fringilla arborea Wits. Am. Orn. ii, 1810, 12, pl. 16, fig. 3. Spizella montana “(Forst.)” Rripew. Nom. N. Am. B. 1881, No. 210. Hazs. Eastern North America, breeding (so far as known) wholly north of the United States (Labrador, Hudson's Bay Terr.,and thence nearly or quite to the Arctic coast), wintering chiefly within the United States. (In western North America represented by the paler colored S. monticola ochracea BREWSTER, which breeds in Alaska, and mi- grates in winter to the Western States and Territories.) Sp. Coan. Mandible yellow, maxilla black. Pileum rich rufous,also a distinct post- ocular stripe; sides of head light ash-gray, including a broad superciliary stripe, the latter nearly white anteriorly. Nape mixed ashy and rufous. Back rusty ochraceous, streaked with rufous and black. Wings rusty, the feathers blackish centrally; both rows of wing-coverts broadly tipped with pure white, forming two distinct bands; tertials bordered with white toward ends. Rump uniform grayish olive. Tail dark grayish brown, feathers edged with paler. Lower parts whitish, tinted with ashy anteriorly, sides and flanks tinged with ochraceous, sides of breast tinged with rufous,and middle of jugulum with a dusky spot. Total length, 6.25-6.50 inches; extent, 9.25-9.50; wing, about 2.80-3.10; tail, 2.80 3.00. This pretty little sparrow is one of our most common and familiar winter residents, occurring everywhere throughout the State, and in the sheltered bushy swamps in the more southern counties con- gregating in immense numbers. It comes familiarly about the door- yards and gardens, gleaning from the snow in company with Snow- birds (Junco hyemalis) and other winter residents. During the warmer days of winter, or even if the weather be cold though clear, the rich medley of soft jingling notes uttered by a number of 972, BIRDS OF ILLINOIS. individuals of this species is not excelled for sweetness by any bird notes, while during the love season, says Dr. Brewer, “the Tree Sparrow is quite a fine musician, its song resembling that of the Canary, but finer, sweeter, and not so loud.” According to Mr. Brewster, “their song is a loud, clear and powerful chant, starting with two high notes, then falling rapidly, and ending with a low, sweet warble.” After mentioning the fact that this species is, in northeastern Illinois, an “abundant winter resident about thickets and in marshes,” and that it “arrives the 15th of October and departs the Ist of April,” Mr. Nelson, in his list (p. 108) thus appropriately describes their song: “The first of March they collect in large flocks and are very musical. Often a large portion of the flock will unite in song which, although it may be more than equaled later in the season, yet, coming as it does between winter and spring, and so touch- ingly plaintive, one involuntarily stops to listen with a peculiar feeling of pleasure.” Spizella socialis (Wils.) CHIPPING SPARROW. Popular synonyms. Chippy; Chip-bird; Hair-bird. Fringilla socialis Wms. Am. Orn. ii, 1810, 127, pl. 16, fig. 55—Nurr. Man. i, 1832, 497.—Aup, Orn. Biog. ii, 1834, 21; v, 1839, 517, pl. 104. Emberiza socialis AuD. Synop. 1839, 105; B, Am. ili, 1841, 80, p]. 165. NSpizella socialis BP. 1838.—BartrpD, B. N. Am. 1858, 473; Cat. N. Am. B. 1859, No. 359.— Cougs, Key, 1872,142; Check List, 1873, No. 178; B. N. W. 1874, 148.—B. B. & R. Hist. N. Am. B. ii, 1874,7, pl. 27, fig. 1. Spizella domestica “(BARTR.)” Couns, Proc. Phil. Ac. 24 Check List, 1882, No. 269.— Ripew. Nom. N. Am. B. 1881, No. 211. Has. Eastern North America, north to the “Fur Countries,” wintering in Southern States, Cuba,and eastern Mexico. In the western United States and the greater part of Mexico, replaced by the slightly but constantly different 8. socialis arizone. “Sp. CHAR. Rump, back of neck, and sides of head and neck,ashy. Interscapular region with black streaks, margined with pale rufous. Crown continuous and uniform chestnut. Forehead black,separated in the middle by white. A white streak over the eye to nape, and a black one from the base of the bill through and behind theeye. Lores dusky. Upper 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 across the wing-coverts. Billblack. Length, 5.75; wing, nearly 3.00; tail, 2.50 (or less). “Young. Immature birds and frequently theadult fémales with the cap streaked with blackish lines, the chestnut sometimes nearly or 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 S. pusilla), with all intermediate stages. There is usually, how- ever, a dusky tinge in the upper bill, wanting in pusilla, and the lores are almost always more or less dusky in all stages of plumage.” (Hist. N. Am. B.) FRINGILLIDE—THE FINCHES. 273 So well known is the common Chipping Sparrow, Chip-bird, or Chippy, that a particular account of its habits is hardly necessary here. Perhaps the most familiar and confiding of all our birds, it is at the same time one of the most beneficial; and, so far as we are aware, possesses not a single objectionable trait. Says Dr. Brewer (Hist. N. Am. B., Vol. II., pp. 9, 10): “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 equaled by similar traits manifested by the Snowbird (J. hyemalis) in Pictou. Those that live about our dwellings in rural situations, and haye been treated kindly, visit our doorsteps, and even enter the houses, with the greatest familiarity and trust. They will learn to distinguish their friends, ahght at their feet, call for their accus- tomed 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 of these birds, the female, from coming down to the ground to be fed with crumbs, soon learned to take them on the flat branch of the fir near her nest, and at last to feed from my hand, and afterwards from that of other members of the family. Her mate, all the while, was comparatively shy and distrustful, and could not be induced to receive his food from us, or to eat in our presence.” Spizella pallida (Swains.) CLAY-COLORED SPARROW. Embrriza pallida Swatnys. F. B.-A. ii, 1851, 251. Spizella pallida Bp. 1838.—Bartrp, B. N. Am. 1858, 474; Cat. N. Am. B. 1859, No. 360.— Cougs, Key, 1872,143; Check List, 1873, No. 180; 2d ed. 1882, No. 272; B. N. W. 1874,148.— B. B. & R. Hist. N. Am. B. ii, 1874,11, pl. 27, fig. 3—Ripew. Nom. N. Am. B. 1881, No. 212. Emberiza shattuckii AuD. B. Am. vii, 1843, 347, pl. 493. Has. Great Plains, from the Saskatchewan to Texas, and (in winter) along the southern border to Arizona and Cape St. Lucas, west to base of Rocky Mountains, east to prairies of Iowa, Wisconsin, and Illinois. (Notr. The “Emberiza pallida” of Audu- bon’s works is not this species, but S. breweri, Cass., which replaces S. pallida from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific coast. The two species are closely allied, but quite distinct.) “Sp. Cuan. Smaller than S. socialis. Backandsides of hind neck ashy. Prevailing color above pale brownish yellow. with a tinge of grayish. The feathers of back and crown streaked conspicuously with blackish. Crown with a median pale ashy anda lateral or superciliary ashy white stripe. Beneath whitish, tinged with brown on the —18 974 BIRDS OF ILLINOIS. breast and sides, and an indistinct narrow brown streak on the edge 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. Bill reddish, dusky towards tip. Legs yellow. Length, 4.75; wing, 2.55. “The ashy collar is quite conspicuous, and streaked above with brown. The rump is immaculate. The streaks on the feathers of the crown almost form continuous lines, about six in number. The brown line above the ear-coverts is a postocular one. That on the side of the chin forms the lower border of a white maxillary stripé which widens and curves around behind the ear-coverts, fading into the ashy of the neck. The wing feathers are all mar- gined with paler, and there is an indication of two light bands across the ends of the coverts. “The young of this species is thickly streaked beneath, over the throat, breast, and belly, with brown, giving to it an entirely differ- ent appearance from the adult. The streaks in the upper parts, too, are darker and more conspicuous. The margins of the feathers are rather more rusty. “This species is readily distinguishable from the other American Spizellas, except S. brewert (which see), in the dark streaks and median ashy stripe on the crown, the paler tints, the dark line on the side of the chin, etc.” (Hist. N. Am. B.) The Clay-colored Sparrow is one of that group of species to which we have previously alluded (see page 246) as characterizing a Cam- pestrian Province. Its range is closely coincident with that of Sprague’s Pipit (Anthus spragueti), Baird’s and Leconte’s Sparrows, Harris’s Finch, McCown’s and Chestnut-collared Longspurs, and Lark Bunting,—being the Great Plains, in their whole extent, from the Valley of the Saskatchewan southwards, and to the eastward extending sparingly into the prairie districts along the eastern side of the Mississippi river. In Illinois, the present species is known with certainty to occur only in the more northern portions: of the State, although it no doubt inhabits the prairie districts well south- ward, especially in the more western counties. Myr. Nelson records it as “a rare summer resident about the borders of prairies,” in Cook county, and adds that ‘“‘specimens are in Mr. Holden’s col- lection taken near Chicago.” In its habits this species is said to closely resemble the Chipping Sparrow, especially in its confiding familiarity, and its song is said to be very similar to that of S. socialis. The nest and eggs of the two species are hardly distinguishable. FRINGILLIDE—THE FINCHES 275 Spizella pusilla (Wils.) FIELD SPARROW. Popular synonyms. Field Chippy, or Chip-bird; Red-billed Chippy. Motacillajuncorum GMEL. S. N. i, 1788, 952 (based on Little Brown Sparrow of CATESBY). Fringilla juncorum Nutt. Man, i,1832,499; ed. 1840, i, 577. Fringilla pusilla Wis. Am. Orn. ii, 1810, 121, pl. 16, fig. 2—Aup. Orn. Biog. ii, 1834, 229, pl. 139. Emberiza pusilla AupD. Synop. 1889, 104; B. Am. iii, 1841,77, pl. 164. Spizella pusilla Bp. 1838.— Batrp, B. N. Am. 1858, 473; Cat. N. Am. B. 1859, No. 358.—CouEs, Key, 1872, 143; Check List, 1873,No. 179; B. N. W. 1874, 148.—B. B. & R. Hist. N. Am. B. ii, 1874,5, pl. 27, fig. 2.—Ripew. Nom. N. Am. B. 1881, No. 214. Spizella agrestis “(BarTR.)” Cougs, 2d Check List, 1872, No. 271. Has. Eastern United States, breeding throughout (exceptin Gulf States?) and win- tering chiefly south of 38°. Sp. CHar. Bill brownish red. Crown continuous rufous, witha faint indication of an ashy central stripe,and ashy nuchal collar. Back somewhat similar, with shaft-streaks of blackish. Sides of head and neck (includinga superciliary stripe) ashy. Ear-coverts rufous. Beneath white,tinged with yellowish anteriorly, the sides of the breast with a rufous patch. Tail-feathers and quills faintly edged with white. Two whitish bands across the wing-coverts. Autumnal specimens more rufous. Length about 5.75; wing, 2.34. “This species is about the size of S. socialis, 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 rump; has.a longer tail, ete. It is more like monticola, but is much smaller; lacks the spot on the breast, and the pre- dominance of white on the wings, ete. The young have the breast and sides streaked, and the crown slightly so.” (Hist. N. Am. B.) Although equally common with the Chipping Sparrow, and in many localities even more abundant, the little Field Sparrow is far less known on account of its more secluded habits. Instead of seeking the society of man it almost wholly avoids the towns and seems in- separably attached to the rural districts. It is by no means timid or retiring, however, but prefers the country because only there can it find those localities which are essential to its presence. The Field Sparrow inhabits all sorts of bushy localities, such as hazel and blackberry thickets, old fields grown-up to weeds and sprouts, the borders of prairies, etc. Its nest is built either on the ground or not higher than two or three feet above it, and the eggs are very different in color from those of the Chipping Sparrow, being greenish or bluish white, thickly speckled with reddish brown. Frequently the nest is built in gooseberry or currant bushes in a farm-house garden, but oftener a more secluded spot is chosen, 276 BIRDS OF ILLINOIS. While conceding that this species is “a very varied and fime singer,” Dr. Brewer (Hist. N. Am. B. Vol. IL., p. 6) says “its notes are not very powerful, and cannot be heard any distance.” This has “not been the writer’s experience, however, his observations leading ‘him to quite the contrary opmion. In Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, and Virginia, where he has listened to its song on countless occa- sions, he has always regarded the song of the Field Sparrow as being particularly characterized by its power, being certainly far louder and capable of being heard at a much greater distance, than ‘that of the Song Sparrow (Melospiza fasciata) or Vesper Sparrow (Poocetes gramineus) or any others of the smaller species of this family. The Field Sparrow’s song is further characterized by its plaintiveness, and were it not for this quality would rank among the very finest bird songs which can be heard in our fields. Sometimes a particularly gifted male will repeat twice or three times the usual song, without faltering between, and then the per- formance becomes truly fine. Genus JUNCO Wacter.. Junco WAGLER, Isis, 1831, 526. Type, Fringilla cinerea Sw. Gen. CHAR. Bill small, conical; culmen curyed at the tip; the lower jaw quite as high asthe upper. Tarsus longer than the middle toe; outer toe longer than the inner, barely reaching as far as the middle of the latter; extended toes reaching about to the middle of the tail. Wings rather short; reaching over the basal fourth of the exposed surface of the tail; primaries, however, considerably longer than the secondaries and tertials, which are nearly equal. The second quill longest, the third to fifth successively but little shorter; first longer than sixth, much exceeding secondaries. Tail moderate, a little shorter than the wings; slightly emarginate and rounded. Feathers rather narrow; oval at the end. No streaks on the head or body; color above uniform on the head, back, or rump, separately or on alltogether. Belly white; outer tail-feathers white. Young birds streaked above and below. “The essential characters of this genus are the middle toe rather shorter than the short tarsus; the lateral toes slightly unequal, the outer reaching the base of the middle claw; the tail a little shorter than the wings, slightly emarginate. In Junco cinereus the claws are longer; the lower mandible a little lower than the upper.” (Hist. N. Am. B.) The genus is numerously represented in the western portions of the continent, where no less than nine species occur (one of them, J. hyemalis, as a straggler, and two—J. insularis, of Guadalupe I., and J. bairdi, of Lower California—not coming within the United om FRINGILLIDAi—THE FINCHES. 27 States). In Eastern North America only two species occur, and one of these (J. oregonus) merely as a strageler. Both belong to the Ilinois fauna, and may be distinguished as follows: 1. J. hyemalis. Plain blackish gray, or slate-gray the belly and lateral tail-feathers white. (Abundant winter resident.) 2. J. oregonus. Head,neck,and jugulum, black; back brownish; rump, only, slate-gray; sides light pinkish brown; belly and lateral tail-feathers white,as in J. hyemalis. Of the western species, J. aikeni is larger than J. hyemalis, and usually has distinct white wing-bands; the sides ash-gray, and the bill light pinkish. J. annectens has the head, neck, jugulum, and upper parts ash-gray (back more brownish), the sides pinkish; bill ight pinkish. J. caniceps resembles J. annectens, but has the back bright rufous and the sides ashy, like the breast. J. dorsalis resembles J. caniceps, but has the upper mandible black, the lower yellow, and the lower parts grayish white. J. cinereus is allied to dorsalis, and like that species has the iris bright yellow (in other species, excepting J. dorsalis, the eye is dark brown or claret color), but has the rufous of the back extended over the wing-coverts and tertials. Hach species, or race, has likewise distinctive proportions and a separate breeding range. Junco hyemalis (Linn.) SLATE-COLORED JUNCO. Popular synonyms. Black Snowbird; Common Snowbird; Slate-colored Snowbird; Gray Snowbird; Eastern Snowbird. Fringilla hyemalis Linn. 8. N. ed. 10, i, 1758, 183.—A up. Orn. Biog. i, 1831,72; v,505, pl. 13. Niphea hyemalis Aup. Synop. 1839, 106; B. Am. iii, 1841, 88, pl 167. Junco hyemalis Sct. 1857.—Barrp,B. N. Am, 1858, 468; Cat. N. Am. B, 1859, No. 354.— Cougs, Key, 1872, 141; Check List, 1878, No. 174; 2d ed. 1882, No. 261 (“hiemalis”); B.N. W. 1874, 141.—B. B. & R. Hist. N. Am. B. i, 1874, 580, pl. 26, fig. 5—-Rmpew. Nom. N. Am. B. 1881, No. 217. Fringilla hudsonia Forst. Philos. Trans. xii, 1772, 428.—Wr1s. Index, vi, 1812, p xiii. Fringila nivalis Wiis. Am. Orn. iii, 1810, 129, pl. 16, fig. 6—Nurr, Man. i, 1882, 491. Has. Northern North America, breeding from northern New England to Alaska (Yukon district); in winter,whole of eastern United States, and straggling westward (Colorado, Utah, Arizona,ete.). “Sp. CHAR. Everywhere of a grayish or dark ashy black, deepest anteriorly; the mid- dle of the breast behind and of the belly, the under tail-coverts, and first and second ex- ternal tail-feathers, white; the third tail-feather white, margined with black. Length, 6.25; wing, about 3.00. In winter washed with brownish. Young streaked above and below. “The wing is rounded; the second quill longest; the third, fourth, and fifth, successively, a little shorter; the first longer than the sixth. Tail slightly rounded, and a little emarginate. In the full 278 BIRDS OF ILLINOIS. spring dress there is no trace of any second color on the back, ex- cept an exceedingly faint and scarcely appreciable wash of dull brownish over the whole upper parts. The markings of the third tail-feather vary somewhat in specimens. Sometimes the whole trp is margined with brown; sometimes the white extends to the end; sometimes both webs are margined with brown; sometimes the outer is white entirely; sometimes the brownish wash on the back is more distinct.” (Hist. N. Am. B.) : Some specimens have more or less distinct white wing-bands. While the Snowbird is known to every one as a common and familiar winter resident, there are few people but to whom its coming and going is a mystery; and the question is often asked, “What becomes of the Snowbirds in summer, and where do they breed?” The summer home of this interesting species includes the colder region of the far North from northern Maine and the more eastern British Provinces to Alaska, north to the Arctic “barren grounds,” and along the higher portions of the Alleghanies for an undetermined distance southward.* “About Calais [Maine], and in all the islands of the Bay of Fundy, and throughout New Brunswick and Nova Scotia,” Dr. Brewer “found this by far the most common and familiar species, especially at Pictou, where it abounded in the gardens, in repeated instances coming within the out-buildings to build its nests. In a woodshed connected with the dwelling of Mr. Dawson, my attention was called to the nests of several of these birds, built within reach of the hand, and in places where the family were passing and re- passing throughout the day * * * On my ride from Hal- ifax to Pictou, they reminded me of the common Spizella socialis, but were, if anything, more fearless and confiding, coming into the room where the family were at their meals, and only flying away when they had secured a crumb of sufficient size.” In all probability the Snowbird does not breed, even occasionally, anywhere within the limits of the State of Llinois; nevertheless, individuals may in extremely rare instances be found several weeks after others have departed for the North, these having probably re- ceived some injury which retards, if it does not altogether prevent, *On the high mountains of western North Carolina, eastern Tennessee, and northern Georgia, an allied race, or perhaps distinct species,is resident. This has recently (in “The Auk,” vol, iii, Jan. 1886, p. 108) been described by Mr. Brewster,as J. hyemalis carolinensis. FRINGILLIDA:—THE FINCHES. 279, their migration. Professor Forbes informs me of such an instance which came under his own observation, as follows: “While on a recent trip to southern Ilnois, I astonished myself by shooting, June 9, one mile from the Ohio river, near Klizabeth- town, in Hardin county, an adult specimen of the Common Snow- bird (Junco hyemalis). 1 killed the bird from a tree in the edge of a wood. I neither heard nor saw another of the species there.” (See “Nuttall Bulletin,” July, 1881, p. 180.) Junco hyemalis oregonus (‘lowns.) OREGON JUNCO. Popular synonyms. Black-headed Snowbird; Oregon Snowbird. Fringilia oregona Towns. Jour. Phil. Ac. vii, 1837, 188.—AupD. Orn. Biog. v, 1839, 68, pl. 398. Niphea oregona AuD. Synop. 1839, 107; B. Am. iii, 1841, 91, pl. 168. t Junco oregonus Sc. 1857.—Barrp, B. N. Am. 1858, 466; Cat. N. Am. B. 1859, No. 352.— Cougs, Key, 1872, 141; Check List, 1873, No. 175; 2d ed, 1882, No. 263; B. N. W. 1874, 142. B. B. & R. Hist. N. Am. B.i, 1874, 584, pl. 26, flg. 2—Ripe@w. Nom. N. Am. B. 1881, No. 218, Has. Pacific coast of North America, breeding from higher mountains of southern California north to Sitka; in winter throughout the western United States, and even straggling to the Atlantic States (Kansas, Illinois, etc.) In its habits and notes this bird is so completely a counterpart of the common eastern Snowbird (J. hyemalis) that the writer is unable to discover, from the accounts of writers or from his own experience, any peculiarities whatsoever. It is, however, very differ- ent in its plumage, as may be seen from the description given above, and the comparative diagnoses on page 277. Genus PEUCZA®A Aupuzon. Peucea Aup. Synop. 1839,112. Type Fringilla bachmanii AUD. “Gen. CHAR. Bill moderate. Upper outline and commissure decidedly curved. Legs and feet, with the claws,small; the tarsus about equal to the middle toe; the lateral toes equal, their claws falling 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 ter- tials do not exceed the secondaries, while both are not much short of the primaries; the outer three or four quills are graduated. The tail is considerably longer than the wings; it is much graduated laterally; the feathers, though long, are peculiarly narrow, linear, and elliptically rounded at the ends. “Color beneath 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.” (Hist. N. Am. B.) 280 BIRDS OF ILLINOIS. Only one species of this southern genus is known to oceur in Illinois. Another however, may be expected, at least as a straggler, and for this reason the comparative characters of the two are given here. 1. P. estivalis, Adult: Above reddish brown, streaked with gray, and usually spotted on the back with black; beneath dull buffy, whitish on the belly. Middle tail-feathers without distinct bars. a. estivalis. Crown streaked with blackish, and black streaks on back always very distinct. Hab. Florida and lower Georgia. fp. bachmanii. Crown without black streaks, and black streaks on back frequently obsolete: general coloration much more ‘sandy’ above, and clearer, or less dingy, buff below. Hab. North and South Carolina, west to eastern Texas, north to southern Illinois and Indiana. 2. P. cassini. Above brownish gray,spotted with grayish brown and black, but with no rusty; lower parts nearly uniform brownish white or pale brownish gray. Middle tail-feathers very distinctly barred with dusky. Hab, Southwestern U. 8., north to Kansas. ‘ Peucea estivalis bachmanii (Aud.) BACHMAN’S SPARROW. Popular synonyms. Ilinois Sparrow; Oak-wood Sparrow; Bachman’s Finch. Peucea estivalis Ripcw. Am. Nat., July 1872, 430 (Wabash Co., Illinois); Ann. N. Y. Lye. x, Jan. 1874, 573 (do.); Proe. Boston Soc. xvi, Feb. 18, 1874, 308, 326 (do., summer resid.); Bull. Nutt. Orn. Club, iii, Oct. 1878, 164 (‘‘“extremely local and quite rare”),.— NELSON, Bull. Essex. Inst., ix, 1877, 36,49 (Mt. Carmel, Wabash Co., and Fox Prairie, Richland Co., Illinois). Peucea illinoénsis Ripaw. Bull. Nutt. Orn Club, Oct. 1879, 219 (southern Illinois to central Texas). E Peucewa estivalis illinoénsis Ripaw. Nom. N. Am. B. 1881, No. 226a.—Covgs, 2d Check List, 1882, No. 252. Peucea estivalis bachmani Brewst. Auk, ii, Jan. 1885, 106. Has. Open woods, old fields, ete., in semi-prairie districts of the lower Mississippi Valley and Gulf States; north in summer to Richland, Lawrence. and Wabash counties, Illinois; Knox and Monroe counties,* Indiana; and Nelson county, Kentucky; east to Lookout Mountain, Tennessee, Alabama, and the Carolinas; southwest to ‘““Lower Cross Timbers” and ‘‘Post Oak Woods” of Cook county, Texas. ; Sp. CHar. Adult. Above sandy ferruginous, indistinctly streaked with lightash-gray, these streaks broadest on the back and middle line of the crown; interscapulars some- times marked with narrow central streaks of black. Outer surface of the wings light fer- ruginous, the greater coverts less reddish and edged with paler; tertials dusky brown, bordered terminally with pale reddish ashy; outer surface of the secondaries ferruginous. Tail uniform grayish brown, the edges of the feathers more ashy. Sides of the head and neck, throat, jugulum, and entire sides, deep dingy buff, this color most distinct across ' *In a letter dated April 27, 1884, Professor David 8. Jordan, President of the Indiana State University, writes me as follows: “It may perhaps interest you to know that two specimens of Peucea estivalis illinoénsis have been taken at Bloomington (April 24). They were shot in a brush hear,” FRINGILLIDE—THE FINCHES. 281 the breast, paler on the throat and chin; a postocular streak of ferruginous along the upper edge of the auriculars; sides of the neck streaked with ferruginous; an indistinct dusky streak on each side of the throat, along the lower edge of the malar region; abdo- men dull white; crissum creamy buff; edge of the wing, from the carpal to the earpo- phalangeal joint, bright yellow. Bill pale horn-color, the maxilla darker; iris brown; legs and feet pale brown. Total length,about 6.00; wing, 2.25-2.60 (2.51); tail, 2.40-2.95 (2.69); bill, from nostril to tip, .80-.33; depth through base, .27-.30 (.29); tarsus, .70-.82 (.77); middle toe, .55-.60 (.59). * _ Compared with typical P. estivalis, in corresponding plumage, the differences of coloration are at once apparent. The upper parts are much paler, and more “sandy” in hue, and the black mesial streaks which in estivalis mark all the feathers (except those of the nape and wings) are either entirely wanting, or confined to the inter- scapular region ; ‘the breast and sides are very distinctly ochra- ceous buff, these parts in estivalis being dull buffy grayish. The proportions are very nearly the same in the two species, but bach- man has a longer wing and a thicker bill, the average of five speci- mens, compared with six of estivalis, being 2.51 and 0.29 respee- tively, against 2.40 and 0.26. P. arizone is so different as scarcely to need comparison, having, like estivalis, the whole crown streaked with black; the general hue of the upper parts more of a hair- brown, and the lower parts nearly uniform pale buffy grayish, the abdomen not conspicuously lighter. It is also larger, measuring, wing 2.60, and tail 2.85. While little is really known regarding the distribution of this species in Illinois, it probably occurs locally—that is, in suitable localities—throughout that portion of the State lying south of the parallel of 89°; and perhaps it extends still further north. It is emphatically a bird of open oak woods, where large white and post oaks prevail, with grass land immediately adjoining, or where the intervals between the trees consist of sward rather than under- growth; but neglected fields, grown up to weeds, and in which old dead trees are left standing, are also its favorite haunt. Bachman’s Sparrow first came under my observation early in June, 1871, when several were seen and others heard, about half- way between Mount Carmel and Olney, the former in Wabash, the latter in Richland county, Llinois. *These measurements represent the extremes and averages of ten adults, = =~ cur = 282, BIRDS OF ILLINOIS. After leaving this locality the species was lost sight of until the 11th of August following, upon our return to Mount Carmel. At the latter place it was found to be rather rare in certain places just outside the town limits, the localities frequented being invari- ably neglected weedy fields in which scattered dead trees were stand- ing. Unlike most birds, this species sang with the greatest vigor, and frequently during the sultry midday, when the sky was bright- est and the heat intense—the thermometer ranging from 90° to 103° in the shade. The song, while reminding one somewhat of the plaintive chant of the Field Sparrow (Spizella pusilla), was far sweeter and altogether louder; the modulation, as nearly as can be expressed in words, resembling the syllables théeééééé-thut, lut, lut, lut, the first being a rich silvery trill, pitched in a high musical key, the other syllables also metallic, but abrupt, and lower in tone. -In July and August, 1875, several specimens of this species were collected by Messrs. E. W. Nelson and F. T. Jencks in the vicinity of Mount Carmel and on Fox Prairie, the latter in Richland county, about thirty-five miles to the northward of Mount Carmel. Mr. Nelson thus records his observations (Bull. Hssex Inst., Vol. 1X., p. 38) : “Rather common. Those obtained were found about the fences or brush piles in half-cleared fields. They were shy and quite difficult to secure from their habit of diving into the nearest shelter when alarmed, or skulking, wren-like, along the fences, dodging from rail to rail. One was observed singing from a fence stake, but seeing the intruder it stopped abruptly and darted into a patch of weeds,” Grnus MELOSPIZA Batrp. Melospiza Batrp, Birds N. Am. 1858, 478. Type, Fringilla melodia Wius., F. fasciata GMEL. “Grn. CHAR. Body stout. Bill conical, very obsoletely notched, or smooth; somewhat compressed. Lower mandible not so deep as the upper. Commissure nearly straight. Gonys alittle curved. Feet stout,not stretching beyond the tail; tarsus a little longer than the middle toe; outer toe a litle longer than the inner; its claws not quite reaching to the base of the middle one. Hind toe appreciably longer than the middle one. Wings quite short and rounded, scarcely reaching beyond the base of the tail; the tertials con- siderably longer than the secondaries; the quills considerably graduated; the fourth longest; the first not longer than the tertials, and almost the shortest of the primaries. Tail moderately long,rather longer from coceyx than the wings,and considerably gradu- ated; the feathers oval at the tips,and not stiffened. Crown and back similar in color, and streaked; beneath thickly streaked,except in M. georgiana. ‘Tail immaculate. Usually nest on ground; nests strongly woven of grasses and fibrous stems; eggs marked with rusty brown and purple on a ground of a clay color,” FPRINGILLIDE—THE FINCHES. 283 “This genus differs from Zonotrichia in the shorter, more gradu- ated tail, rather longer hind toe, much more rounded wing, which is shorter; the tertiaries longer; the first quill almost the shortest, and not longer than the tertials. The under parts are spotted; the crown streaked, and like the back.” (Hist. N. Am. B.) The three species which occur in eastern North America (one of them peculiar to the Atlantic side) may be distinguished by the following characters : A. Breast and sides distinctly streaked, at all ages. a. Maxillary stripe and jugulum white, like other lower parts, the streaks on breast broad, cuneate. 1. M. fasciata. Above rusty grayish, streaked with brown and black. Wing about 2.70; tail nearly 3.00. 6. Maxillary stripe and jugulum buff, the other lower parts chiefly white; streaks on jugulum linear. 2. M.lincolni. Above olive-brown, streaked with black. Wing 2.60, or less; tail 2.50, or less.* B. Breast and sides without streaks, except in young (fir: t plumage). 3. M. georgiana. Breast and sides of head ashy; wings chestnut-rufous; back olive-brown, broadly streaked or spotted with black. In breeding plumage, crown (of both sexes) bright chestnut. Melospiza fasciata (Gmel.) Fringilla fasciata GMEL. S. N. i, 1788, 922. Melospiza fasciata Scort, Am. Nat. x, 1876, 18.—Ripew. Nom. N. Am. B. 1881, No. 231.— CoveEs, 2d Check List, 1882, No. 244. Fringilla melodia Wiis. Am. Orn. ii, 1810, 125, pl. 16, fig. 4—Aupb. Orn. Biog. i, 1831, 126; vy, 507, pl. 25; Synop. 1839, 120; B. Am. iii, 1841, 147, pl. 189.—Nurr. Man. i, 1832, 486. Melospiza melodia Barrp, B. N. Am. 1858, 477; Cat. N. Am. B. 1859, No. 227—Covegs, Key, 1872, 159; Check List, 1873, No. 146; B. N. W. 1874, 138.—B. B. & R. Hist. N. Am. B. ii, 1874, 19, pl. 27, fig. 6. Has. Eastern United States and British Provinces, west to, and ineluding, the Great Plains; wintering from about 50° to the Gulf coast, breeding in northern States and along the Atlantic sea-board. (In western portions of the continent, represented by numerous local or geographical races.) “Sp. CHar. Gencral tint of upper parts rufous and distinctly streaked with rufous- brown, dark brown and ashy-gray. The crown isrufous, with asuperciliary 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 witha narrow streak of black, forming about six narrow lines. Interscapulars black in the center, then rufous, then pale grayish on the margin, these three colors on each feather very sharply eontrasted. Rump grayer than upper tail-coverts, both with obsolete dark streaks. There is a whitish maxillary stripe, bordered above and below by one of dark rufous brown, and with another from behind the eye. The under parts are white: the jugulum and sides of body streaked with clear dark brown, sometimes with a rufous suffusion. On the middle of the breast these marks are rather aggregated so as to form aspot. No distinct white on tail or wings. Length of male, 6.50; wing, 2.58; tail, 3.00. Bill pale brown above; yellowish at base beneath. Legs yellowish. * In western specimens the tail is sometimes half an inch longer. 284 BIKDSs OF ILLINOIS. “Specimens vary somewhat in having the streaks across the breast more or less sparse, the spot more or less distinct. In au- tumn the colors are more blended, the light maxillary stripe tinged with yellowish, the edges of the dusky streaks strongly suffused with brownish rufous. “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 brown.” (Hist. N. Am. B.) While the Song Sparrow breeds in the extreme northern part of Illinois, it is known in the more southern portions only as a winter resident. This is somewhat remarkable, since along the Atlantic coast it is one of the most abundant summer residents throughout Maryland and Virginia, in the same latitudes as southern Illinois. The writer has elsewhere (Proc. Boston Soc. Nat. Hist. Vol. XVI., 1874, p. 9) called attention to this fact, as follows: “In southern Iowa, according to Mr. Trippe (Proc. Boston Soc. Nat. Hist., Oct., 1872, p. 287), the Song Sparrow is ‘abundant in spring and fall, but not observed to breed. Shy and retiring, a complete contrast to the eastern Song Sparrow.’ In southern Ili- nois this is also the case, the species being there a winter sojourner, abundant, but very retiring, inhabiting almost solely the bushy swamps in the bottom-lands, and unknown as a song bird. The same are also probably its habits throughout Illinois and the adjacent districts. This is a remarkable instance of variation in habits with longitude of one geographical race, since in the Atlantic States it breeds abundantly, as far south at least as the parallel of 88°, and is besides one of the most familiar of the native birds.” As far north at least as Wabash, Lawrence, and Rich’and coun- ties, in this State, the Song Sparrow makes its appearance in the fall along with the White-throated and Swamp Sparrows, and re- mains all winter in company with these and other species, depart- ing with them in the spring. I have there heard its song but on two or three occasions, and then only in the spring, just before they took their departure.* The song of this bird, although sufficiently fine to attract atten- tion, is by no means equal to that of many other species of its * Since the above was written, Mr. J. A. Balmer, of Paris, Edgar county, has informed me that the Song Sparrow is a not uncommon summer resident of that vicinity, and has sent a nest and eggs, obtained in his garden, to prove the correctness of hisidentification, _ FRINGILLIDE—THE FINCHES. 285 family. But this Sparrow is so abundant and so familiar in its habits, that it is better known than most others; it is also very liberal with the supply of music it gives us; and these facts, taken together, undoubtedly haye more to do with its popularity then has the quality of its song. Melospiza lincolnii (Aud.) LINCOLN’S SPARROW. Popular synonyms. Lincoln’s Finch; Lincoln’s Song Sparrow. Fringilla lincolnii Aub. Orn. Biog. ii, 1834,539, pl. 193.—Nutr. Man. 2d ed. i, 1840,569. Peucea lincolnii AuD. Synop. 1839, 113; B. Am. iii, 1841, 116, pl. 177. Melospiza lincolnii Batrp,B. N. Am. 1858, 482; Cat. N. Am. B. 1859, No. 368.—Cougs, Key, 1872, 138; Check List, 1878, No. 167; 2d ed. 1882, No. 242; B. N. W. 1874, 135.—B. B. & R. Hist. N. Am. B. ii,1874,31, pl. 27, fig. 13—Ripe@w. Nom. N. Am. B. 1881, No. 234. Has. Northern North America and higher mountains of western United States, breeding,at high elevations, nearly to the Mexican boundary; thence northward to Alaska (Yukon district) and Labrador, besides various intermediate points; winters in Southern States, Mexico, and Guatemala. (Notr. The distribution of this bird corre- sponds very closely, at all seasons, with that of Zonotrichia leucophrys. Inthe Yukon and McKenzie River districts, however, instead of the latterit is associated with the Z. intermedia,—otherwise their respective distribution is quite identical.) “Sp. CHar. General aspect above, that of M. melodia, but paler and less reddish. Crown dull chestnut, with a median and lateral or superciliary ash-colored stripe; each feather above streaked centrally with black. Back with narrow streaks of black. Be- neath white, with maxillary stripe curving round behind the ear-coverts; a well-defined band across the breast,extending down the sides,and the under tail-coverts, of brownish yellow. The mawillary stripe margined above and below with lines of black spots anda dusky line behind the eye. The throat, upper part of breast, and sides of the body, with streaks of black,smallestin the middle of theformer. The pectoral bands are some- times paler. Billabove dusky; base of lower jawand legs yellowish. Length, 5.60; wing, 2.60. (Hist. N. Am. B.) Instead of being the rare bird that it is commonly supposed to be, Lincoln’s Sparrow is at times almost as numerous as the Swamp Sparrow; and the fact that it associates freely with the latter species, which it closely resembles in habits and general appearance, may in a measure account for its supposed scarcity. In the southern portion of the State a greater or less number usually pass the winter in company with M. georgiana, in the dense brushwood and rank dead herbage of swamps and marshes, in the 286 BIRDS OF ILLINOIS. bottom-lands. In the northern parts, however, according to Mr. Nelson, it is migratory. Mr. Nelson’s remarks concerning it are as follows: “Common during the migrations, from May 8th to 20th, and September 20th to October 15th. Have seen several specimens during the breeding season, and the last of May, 1875, as I was walking through a patch of weeds, a female started from a few feet in advance of me, while my attention was attracted in another (direction, and ran off with half-spread wings. It was shot, and showed unmistakable sign of incubation, but a protracted search failed to reveal the nest. Specimens were taken in July, 1875, near Waukegan, by Mr. Rice.” Melospiza georgiana (Lath.) SWAMP SPARROW. Popular synonyms. Swamp Song Sparrow; Spotted Swamp Sparrow. Fringilla georgiana LatH. Ind. Orn. i,1790, 460.— Nur. Man. i, 1832, 502; 2d ed. i, 1840, 588. (s. g. Ammodromus). Melospiza georgiana Ripew. Proc. U. 8. Nat. Mus. viii, 1885, 355. Fringilla palustris Wiis. Am. Orn. iii, 1811, 49, pl. 22, fig. 1—Aup. Orn. Biog. i, 1831,331; y, 1859, 508. pl. 64, Ammodromus pa'ustris AuD. Synop. 1839, 111; B. Am. iii, 1841, 110, pl. 175. Melospiza palustris BatRp, B. N. Am. 1858, 483; Cat. N. Am. B, 1859, No. 369.—Covugs, Key, 1872,138; Check List, 1873,No. 168; 2d ed. 1882, No. 243; B. N. W. 1874, 137.—B. B. & R. Hist. N. Am. B. ii, 1874, 34, pl. 28, figs. 1,2.—Ripa@w. Nom. N. Am. B. 1881, No. 283. Has. Eastern United States and British Provinces, north, occasionally, to Labrador and Newfoundland; west, casually, to Utah; breeding from northern border of United States northward, and wintering chiefly south of 38°. “Sp, Cuan. Middle of crown uniformchestnut; forehead black; superciliary streak, sides of head and back,and sides of neck,ash. A brown stripe behind the eye. Back with broad streaks of black, which are edged with rusty yellow. Beneath whitish, tinged with ashy anteriorly, especially across the breast, and washed with yellowish brown on the sides. A few obsolete streaks across the breast, which become distinct on its sides. Wings and tail strongly tinged with rufous; the tertials black, the rufous edg- ings changing abruptly to white towards the end. Length,5.75; wing,2.40. Female with the crown scarcely reddish, streaked with black,and divided bya light line. Young con- spicuously streaked beneath the head; above nearly uniform blackish. “In autumn the male of this species has the feathers of the crown each with a black streak, and the centre of the crown with an in- distinct light s‘ripe, materially changing its appearance. ‘The fore- head is usually more or less streaked with black.” (Hist.. N. Am. B.) FRINGILLIDE—THE FINCHES. 287 In southern Tlinois the Swamp Sparrow congregates in immense numbers—perhaps exceeding those of any other species—in the sheltered swamps of the bottom-lands. It breeds in the northern portion of the State, but how far southward its breeding range extends is as yet undetermined. Mr. Nelson records it as being, in Cook county, “an abundant summer resident, far outnumbering M. melodia, although to one who has not frequently visited its favorite marshes at all seasons, this would seem improbable. Arrives the last of March and departs the last of October.” The habits of this species are in a great measure similar to those of the Song Sparrow, although it is much less familiar than the last-named species, preferring secluded swamps and marshes rather than parks, gardens, and door-yards. In History of North American Birds (Vol. IL., pp. 35, 36), Dr. Brewer thus describes its song: “Except in regard to their song, Wilson’s account of their habits, so far as it goes, is quite accurate, although this bird really does have quite a respectable song, and one that improves as the season advances. At first it is only a succession or repetition of a few monotonous, trilling notes, which might easily: be mistaken for the song of the Field Sparrow, or even confounded with the feebler chant of the socialis, although not so raised as the former, and is much more sprightly and pleasing than the other. Stil later its music improves, and more effort is made. Like the Song Sparrow, it mounts some low twig, expands its tail-feathers, and gives forth a very sprightly trill, that echoes through the swampy thicket with an effect which, once noticed and identified with the performer, is not likely to be ever mistaken. Nuttall calls this song loud, sweet, and plaintive. It is to my ear more sprightly than pathetic, and has a peculiarly ventriloquistic effect, as if the performer were at 2 much greater distance than he really is.” Supramity PASSERELLIN ZG. CHar. Toes and claws very stout; the lateral claws reaching beyond the middle of the middle one; all very slightly curved. “Bill conical, the outlines straight; both mandibles equal; wings long, longer than the even tail, or shghtly 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 988 BIRDS OF ILLINOIS. the middle toe. Brown above, either uniformly so or faintly streaked; triangular spots below. ' “This section embraces a single North American genus, chiefly characterized by the remarkable elongation of the lateral claws, as well as by the peculiar shape and large size of all the claws; the lateral, especially, are so much lengthened as to extend nearly as far as the middle. The only approach to this, as far as I recol- lect, among United States Conirostres, is im Pipilo megalonyx, and Xanthocephalus icterocephalus. (Hist. N. Am. B.) Genus PASSERELLA Swarson. Passerella SWAINSsON, Class. Birds, ii, 1887, 288. Type, Fringilla iliaca MERREM. “GEN. CHAR. Body stout. Bill conical, not notched, the outlines straight; the two jaws of equal depth; roof of upper mandible deeply excavated, and vaulted; not knobbed. Tarsus searcely longer than the middle toe; outer toe little longer than the inner its claw reaching to the middle of the central one. Hind toe about equal to the inner lateral; the elaws all long,and moderately curved only; the posterior rather longer than the middle, and equal to its toe. Wings long, pointed, reaching to the middle of the tail; the tertials searcely longer than secondaries; second and third quills longest; first equal to the fifth. Tail very nearly even, scarcely longer than the wing. Inner claw contained scareely one and a half times in its toe proper. “VJolor. Rufous or slaty; obsoletely streaked or uniform above; thickly spotted with triangular blotches beneath.” (Hist. N. Am. B.) A single species of this genus belongs to Nortlr America. It is represented in the West by P. schistacea, Batrp, in the Rocky Mountains and west to the Sierra Nevada; by P. megarhyncha, : Bairp, in the southern portion of the Pacific coast ranges, and by : P. wnalaschcensis (Gmeu.) along the more northern portion of the Pacific Coast. All these forms intergrade either with one another or with P. iliaca, but whether these intergradations are due to hybridism or bear the more important significance which has been assigned to them, future knowledge alone can decide. Passerella iliaca (Merrem). FOX SPARROW. Popular synonyms. Tox-colored Sparrow; Rufous Sparrow. Fringilla iliaca MERREM, Beit. Gesch. Vog. ii, 1786-87, 49. pl. 10.—NurtT. Man. i, 1832, 514.— Aub. Orn. Biog. ii, 1834, 58; v, 1839, 512, pl. 108; Synop. 1839,119; B. Am. iii, 1841, 139, pl. 185. eS EEE debe x sz? ~ted\ teh Sent FRINGILLIDE—THE FINCHES. 289 Passerella iliaca Sw. 1837.—Batrp, B. N. Am. 1858, 488; Cat. N. Am. B. 1859, No. 374.— CovEs, Key, 1872,147; Check List, 1874, No. 188; 2d ed. 1882, No. 282; B. N. W. 1874, 160. —B. B.& R. Hist. N. Am. B. ii, 1874, 59, pl. 78, fig. 2—Ripew. Nom. N. Am. B. 188], No. 235. Fringilla ferruginea GMEL. S. N. i, 1788, 921. Fringilla rufa Wis. Am. Orn. ii,1811,53, pl. 22, fig. 4. Has. Northern North America, including Alaska (except coast from Kodiak east- ward); breeding in arctic and subarctic districts, and southeastward to mouth of the St. Lawrence; in winter eastern United States, chiefly south of 40°. “Sp. Cuar. General aspect of upper parts foxy red, the ground-color and the sides of neck being ashy; the interscapular feathers each with a large blotch of fox-red; this color glossing the top of head and nape, sometimes faintly, sometimes more distinctly; the rump unmarked; the upper coverts and surface of the tail continuous fox-red. Two narrow white bands on the wing. Beneath, with under tail-coverts and axillars, clear white; the sides of head and of throat, the jugulum, breast,and sides of body, conspicu- ously and sharply blotched with fox-red; more triangular across breast, more linear and darker on sides. Sometimes the entre head above is continuously reddish. First quill rather less than fifth. Hind toe about equal toitsclaw. Length, 7.50; wing, 3.50; tail, 2.90; tarsus, .87; middle toe, without claw. .67; hind claw, .35." (Hist. N. Am. B.) In summer, the ash is more predominant above; in winter, it is overlaid more or less by a wash of rufous, as described above. Young, first plumage (="P. obscura” VERRILL). “Color above rufous brown, becom- ing bright rufous on the rump and exposed portion of the tail, buta shade darker than in P.iliaca; head uniform brown, with a slight tinge of ash; feathers of the back cen- tred with a streak of darker brown. Wings nearly the same color as the back, with no white bands; outer webs of the quills rufous, inner webs dark biown; secondary coverts rufous, with dark brown centres; primary coverts unif.rm brown. Beneath dull white, with the throat and breast thickly covered with elongated trian zular spots and streaks of dark reddish brown; sides streaked with rufous brown; middle of abdomen witha few small triangular spots of dark brown; under tail-coverts brownish white, with a few small spots of bright rufous; the tibiw dark brown. The auriculars are tinged with red- dish brown. Bristles at the base of the bill are numerous, extending over the nostrils. Tail rather long, broad, and nearly even. Third quill longest; second and fourth equal, and but slightly shorter; first intermediate between the fifth and sixth, and one fourth of an inch shorter than the third. “Length, 6.75; extent of wings, 10.75; wing,3.35; tarsus,1 inch.” This stage is stated to be ‘‘darkerinall parts; the feathers of the back are rufous brown, centred with darker, instead of ash centred with brownish red; the two white bands onthe wing are wanting; the breast and throat are thickly streaked with elon- gated spots of dark reddish brown, while in P.iliaca the spots are less numerous, shorter and broader,and bright rufous, and the central part of the throatis nearly free from spots; the under tail-coverts are brownish white, with rufous spots, instead of nearly pure white.” This fine Sparrow, distinguished, as its name indicates, by its bright rufous coloring, is a winter resident in the southern and a migrant in the northern portions of the State. It inhabits the densest thickets where, in company with the Chewink, Cardinal, and other species, it passes much of its time on the ground, scratching among the dead leaves for its food. Its breeding range is essentially identical with that of the Snowbird (Junco hyemalis). Those who haye heard his song in his summer home 290. BIRDS OF ILLINOIS. pronounce it a very fine performance. Snatches of this sone may be occasionally heard in the spring before the northward exodus, and his notes at this season certainly are remarkable for their vichness. In History of North American Birds (Vol. IL., p. 52), Dr. Brewer thus describes the full song: ‘In the spring the male becomes quite musical, and is one of our sweetest and most re-- markable singers. His voice is loud, clear, and melodious; his notes full, rich, and varied; and his song is unequaled by any of this family that I have ever heard. Supramity SPIZIN Aa CwHar. Bill variable, always large, much arched, and with the culmen considerably eurved; sometimes of enormous size, and with a greater development backward of the lower jaw, which is always appreciably, sometimes considerably, broader behind than the upper jaw at its base; nostrils exposed. Tailrather variable. Bill generally black, light blue, orred. Wings shorter thanin the first group. Gape almost always much more strongly bristled. Few of the species sparrow-like or plain in their appearance; usually blue, red, or black and white; except in one or two instances the sexes very dif- ferent in color. “The preceding diagnosis is intended to embrace the brightly col- ored passerine birds of North America, different in general appear- ance from the common Sparrows. It is difficult to draw the line with perfect strictness, so as to separate the species from those of the preceding group, but the bill is always more curved, as well as larger, and the colors are brighter. They resemble quite closely, at a superficial glance, the Coccothraustine, but may be readily distin- guished by the absence of the projecting tufts surrounding the base of the upper mandible, shorter, more rounded wings, and longer tarsi. “The genera may be most conveniently arranged as follows: (Hist. N. Am. B.) A. Wings decidedly longer than the tail. Eggs plain blue or white, unspotted. a. Feet very stout, reaching nearly to the end of the tail. Species terrestrial. Calamospiza. Bill moderate, the commissure with a deep angle posteriorly and prominent lobe behind it; anteriorly nearly straight; commissure of lower man- dible with a prominent angle. Outer toe longer than the inner, both nearly as long as the posterior. Outerfour primaries about equal, and abruptly longer than the rest. | Tertials nearly equal to primaries. Tail-feathers broad at tips. Color black with white spot on wing in male, brownish streaks in female. Neston or near ground; eggs plain pale blue. Spiza. Bill weaker, the commissure 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 primary longest, the rest successively shorter. Tertials but little longer than secondaries. Tail- feathers attenuated at tips. Color: back brown streaked with black; throat white; jugulum yellow or ashy; with or without black spot on fore neck. A yel-" low or white superciliary stripe. Nest on or near ground; eggs plain pale blue. b. Feet weaker, scarcely reaching beyond lower tail-coverts; species arboreal, A a. or? ae BT n: cect! a SA hah SS yt A Un eh etucty FRINGILLIDE—THE FINCHES. 291 a. Size large (wing more than 3.50 inches) Habia. Upper mandible much swollen laterally. Colors: no blue; upper parts conspicuously different from the lower. Wings and tail with white patches; axil- - lars and lining of wing yellow orred. Female streaked. Nest ina tree or bush; eggs greenish, thickly spotted. Guiraca. Upper mandible fiat laterally. Colors: Male deep blue, with two rufous bands on wings; no white patches on wings or tail; axillars and lining of wing blue; female olive-brown without streaks. Nest in a bush; eggs plain bluish white. b. Size very small (wing less than 3.00 inches). Passerina. Similar in form to Guiraca., but culmen more curved, mandible more shallow, the angle and sinuations of the commissure less conspicuous. Color: Males more or less blue, without any bands on wing (except in (C. amena,in which they are white); female olive-brownish. Nest inabush; 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. Sporophila. Bill very short and broad, scarcely longer than high, not compressed; culmen greatly curved. Color chiefly black and white, or brown and gray. Euetheia. Bill more triangular, decidedly longer than deep. much compressed; eulmen only slightly curved, or perfectly straight. Colors dull olive-green and blackish, with or without yellow about the head. C. Wing much shorter than the tail. a. Headerested. Prevailing colorred. Bill red, orange, yellow, or whitish. Pyrrhuloxia. Bill pyrrhuline, very short, and with the culmen greatly conyex; shorter than high. Hind claw less thanits digit; not much larger than the mid- dle anterior one. Tarsus equal to the middle toe. Nest in bush or low tree; eggs white, spotted with lilac and olive. Cardinalis, Bill coccothraustine, very large; culmen very slightly convex. Wing: more rounded. Feet as in the last, except that the tarsus is longer than the mid- dle 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. Tarsus less than the middle toe. Neston ground or in low bush; eggs white sprinkled with red, or pale blue with black dots «nd lines around larger end. Ss ee ee = Grexus PIPILO Viemtor. Pipilo Viet.1orT, Analyse, 1816, 32. Type, Fringilla erythropthalma Linn. “GEN. CHAR. Bill rather stout; the culmen gently curved, the gonys nearly straight, the commissure gently concave, with a decided notch near the end; the lower jaw not so deep as the upper; not as wide as the gonys is long, but wider than the base of the upper mandible. Feet large, the tarsus as long as ora little longer than the middle toe; the outer lateral toe a liitle the longer, and reaching a little beyond the base of the middle elaw. The hind claw about equal to its toe; the two together about equal tothe outer toe. Claws all stout, compressed, and moderately curved; in some western specimens the elaws much larger. Wings reaching about to the end of the upper tail-coverts; short and rounded,though the primaries are considerably longer than the nearly equal secondaries and tertials; the outer four quills are graduated,—the first considerably shorter than the second, and hbout as long as the secondaries. Tail considerably longer than the wings, moderately graduated externally; the feathers rather broad, most rounded off on the inner webs at the end. The colors vary; the upper parts are generally uniform black or brown, sometimes olive; the under white or brown; no central streaks on the feathers, The hood sometimes differently colored.” (Hist. V. Am. B.) 292, BIRDS OF ILLINois. As in the case of Passerella, this genus has a single eastern rep- resentative, with several western congeneric, if not conspecific, forms. Pipilo, however, reaches its maximum development in Mex- ico, where are special species not found elsewhere. One of these Mexican species (P. maculatus, Swatys.) passes by gradual transi- tion into P. arcticus, Swatns., on the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains, and P. megalonyx, Batrp, on the western side of the same range. The latter gradually blends into P. oregonus, Brin, in the northern coast range of California, and the excessively humid, densely wooded Pacific water-shed to the northward. An approach to an intergradation between P. arcticus and the eastern P. erythroph- thalmus was first noted by Professor Baird, in “Birds of North America,” p. 518, where mention is made of a specimen from Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, which had “a few white spots on the scapu- lars only, the wing-coverts without them, exhibiting an approach to P. arcticus.” On this basis the conspecific relation of the two forms has been argued by at least one author; but the circumstance that two examples of similar character (one of them even more dis- tinctly spotted than the Fort Leavenworth specimen) have been obtained in the vicinity of Washington, D. C., shows how slow we should be to base so important a conclusion upon a fact of this character, however suggestive it may be. Many mistakes of the kind have been made by thus assuming intergradation without sufficient evidence to support the assumption. Pipilo erythrophthalmus (Linn.) TOWHEE, Popular synonyms. Jaree; Chewink; Towink; Ground Robin; Turkey Sparrow. Fringilla erythrophthalma Linn. S. N. ed. 12, i,1766,318.—Nutr. Man. i, 1832,515.—AvuD. Orn. Biog. i, 1832, 150; v, 1839, 511, pl. 29. Emberiza erythrophthalma GMEL. 8. N. i, 1788, 874.—Wius. Am. Orn. vi, 1812, 90, pl. 53. Pipilo erythrophthalma Viri1u. Gal. Ois. i, 1824, 109, pl. 80.—AuD. Synop. 1839, 124; B. Am. iii, 1841, 167, pl. 195.—Bartrp, B. N. Am. 1858,512; Cat. N. Am. B. 1859, No. 391.— CoueEs, Key, 1872, 151; Check List, 1873, No. 204; 2d ed. 1882, No. 301; B. N. W. 1874, 173.— B. B. & R. Hist. N. Am. B. ii, 1874,106, 109, pl. 31, figs. 2,3.—Ripa@w. Nom. N. Am. B. 1881, No. 237. Has. Eastern United States and British Provinces. west to Minnesota, eastern Kan- sas, and eastern Texas, resident south of 40°. (In Floridareplaced by P. erythrophthalmus alleni, a smaller race, with white of wings and tail more restricted, and eyes yellowish or white instead of bright red.) ; “Sp. CHAR. Upper parts generally, head and neck all round, and upper part of the breast, glossy black, abruptly defined against the pure white which extends to the anus, put is bounded on the sides and under the wings by light chestnut, which is sometimes a tn Rit FRINGILLIDE—THE FINCHES. 993 streaked externally with black. Feathers of throat white in the middle. Under tail- : coverts similar to sides, but paler. Edges of outer six primaries with white at the base and onthe middle of the outer web. Inner two tertiaries also edged externally with white. Tail feathers black; outer web of the first, with the ends of the first to the third, white, decreasing from the exterior one. Outermost quill usually shorter than ninth, or even than secondaries; fourth quill longest, fifth scarcely shorter. Iris red; said to be sometimes paler, or even white, in winter. Length,8.75; wing, 3.75; tail, 4.10. Bill black; legs flesh-color. Female with black replaced by a rather rufous brown.” “The tail feathers are only moderately graduated on the sides; ‘the outer about .40 of an inch shorter than the middle. The outer tail-feather has the terminal half white, the outline transverse; the white of the second is about half as long as that of the first; of the third half that of the second. The chestnut of the sides reaches forward to the back of the neck, and is visible when the wings are closed. “A young bird has the prevailing color reddish olive above, spotted with lighter; beneath brownish white, streaked thickly with brown.” (Hist. N. Am. B.) Next to the splendid Cardinal, the Chewink is decidedly the finest of our terrestrial Fringillide, and in some respects is, perhaps, the most attractive of all. Without brilliant or gaudy coloring, his plumage is yet handsome by reason of its bold contrasts. His notes possess a peculiar charm, and notwithstanding his abode is in the thickets of the wildwood and the remote corners of the farm, no bird is more confiding in the presence of man. The -distribution of this species within the State is very general, thickets only being a condition of its presence. In the southern portion it is a permanent resident, but northward it departs in winter. “Thickets, bushy pastures and barren tracts on the higher grounds are the favorite resorts of this species. It comes early, reaching the Middle States in April. The bottom poles of an old rail fence, among the briars by the woods, is very likely to be its thorough- fare; and at all times it keeps for the most part on or near the ground. Sit down quietly in the thicket, and you will hear its sharp rustle, as it scratches among the dry leaves,—this hen-like seratching, probably in search of food, being one of its marked characteristics of habit. As it flits from bush to bush, never flying far nor high, you can hear the whir-r-r-r of its short, rounded, concaye wings, and as it opens its long, fan-like tail with a jerking motion, the white markings contrast strongly with the jet-black figure. It hops, and sidles, and dodges about, in and out through 294 BIRDS OF ILLINOIS. the brush-piles, the brambles, and the thicket, with a nervous, sparrow-like movement, its tail being often thrown up, after the manner of the Chat or Wren. Frequently it calls out chewink, or towhee, with a sharp and somewhat prolonged aspirate on the sec- ond syllable, thus rendering either of these words, which have become its common names, very distinctly; but in order to get the exact effect, the words must be pronounced just so,—with just such an emphasis and intonation.” (“Our Birds in their Haunts,” pp. 577, 578.) GENUS CARDINALIS BonaPaRTE. Cardinalis BONAPARTE, P. Z. 8. 1887, 11. Type, Lowia cardinalis Linn. “Gen. CHar. Bill enormously large; culmen very slightly curved, commissure sinu- ated; lower jaw broader than the length of the gonys, considerably wider than the upper jaw, about as deep as the latter. Tarsi longer than middle toe; outer toe rather the longer, reaching a little beyond the base of the middle one; hind toe not solong. Wings moderate, reaching over the basal third of the exposed part of the tail. Four outer quills, graduated; the first equaltothe secondaries. Tail long, decidedly longer than the wings, considerably graduated; feathers broad, truncated alittle obliquely at the end, the cor- ners rounded. Color red [in adult male]. Head crested. he “The essential characters of this genus are the crested head; very large and thick bill, extending far back on the forehead, and only moderately curved above; tarsus longer than middle toe; much graduated wings, the first primary equal to the secondary quills; the long tail exceeding the wings, broad and much graduated at the end.” (Hist. N. Am. B.) Only one species in eastern North America, and none in the west, except along the southern border, where two geographical races, C. cardinalis superbus, Ripew., and C. igneus, Barrp, occurin Arizona and at Cape St. Lucas respectively. In eastern Mexico C. virginia- nus coccineus, Ripew., replaces C. cardinalis proper and C. superbus, the latter, however, being the only form in western Mexico. A second species, C. carneus, Luss., belongs to the western coast of Central America (Acapulco to Realejo), while a third, C. phaniceus, GouLp, is found in northern South America. FRINGILLIDE—THE FINGHES. B95 ' Cardinalis cardinalis (Linn.) CARDINAL. Popular synonyms. Redbird; Crested Redbird; Top-knot Redbird; Cardinal Grosbeak; Cardinal Redbird; Corn-eracker; Virginian Redbird; Virginia Nightingale. Loxia cardinalis Lrxyn. 8. N. ed. 10, i, 1758, 172; ed. 12, i, 1766,300.—Wis. Am. Orn. ii, 1810, 38, pl. 6, figs. 1,2. Fringilla cardinalis Br. 1828.—Nutt. Man. i, 1832,519.—A uD. Orn. Biog. ii, 1834, 336, pl. 159. Pitylus cardinalis Aup. Synop. 1839,131; B. Am. iii, 1841, 198, pl. 203. Cardinalis virginianus Bp. List, 1838, 35.—Barrp, B. N. Am. 1858,509; Cat. N. Am. B. 1859, No. 390.—Coves, Key, 1872,151; Check Lisf, 1874, No. 203; 2d ed. 1882, No. 299; B. N. W. 1874,172.—B. B. & R. Hist. N. Am. B. ii, 1874, 100, pl. 30, figs. 6,7.—Ripaw. Nom. N. Am. B. 1881, No. 242. Has. Eastern United States, chiefly south of 40°, but occasionally in New York, Con- necticut, Massachusetts, etc.; west to Nebraska, Kansas, Indian Territory, and Texas. Resident wherever found. Sp. CHar. Adult male. Uniform vermilion-red, pure beneath, darker and more brownish above. Lores, anterior portion of malar region, chin, and throat, black, this eolor meeting across forehead at base of culmen. Bill bright vermilion; iris brown; feet horn-color. Adult female. Bill, eyes, and feetasinthe male. Red of head and body replaced by olive-gray above, and grayish buff or pale fulvous below, the crest, sometimes also the breast, tinged with red. Black of throat, etc., replaced by grayish. Young. Billdusky. Plumage much as in the adult female, but browner. Male. Total length, 8.75-9.25 inches; extent, 11.10-12.25; wing, 3.75-+4.05; tail, 4.10-4.65; eulmen,.75; depth of bill at base, .58-.65. Female, Total length, 8.25-8.45; extent, 11.25-11.50; wing, 3.40-3.80; tail, 3.85-+4.40. The Cardinal Grosbeak is truly one of the glories of our bird- fauna, being unapproachable in the combination of proud bearing and gaudy coloring, and unexcelled in certain qualities of song. Many writers have pronounced his song monotonous, but these have certainly not heard him at his best. The verdict is undoubt- edly a just one when applied to many that we have heard; but there is probably more individual variation in. quality of song in this bird than in any other. We have listened with peculiar pleas- ure to some whose vocal performance was characterized by a clear- ness and mellow richness of tone, a tender and passionate expres- sion, and persistent vigor, that together were wholly unique. Even the females are good singers, though, as a rule, inferior to the males, and it is extremely probable that the impressions which some writers haye received were derived from the songs of birds of this sex. -In the southern portion of the State, few birds are more abund- ant, it beg a common thing in some localities to hear several males singing in earnest rivalry; and the writer has at one time 296 BIRDS OF ILLINOIS. seen three males and two females near together, picking up corn which had been dropped upon a railroad track from a passing train. Except possibly in the extreme northern portion of the State it is a permanent resident, being apparently not affected in the least by changes in the weather. Genus HABIA ReicHenpacn. Habia Retox. Syst. Av. June 1, 1850, pl. xxviii. Type Guiraca melanocephala SwAIns. Hedymeles CaBan. Mus. Hein. i, 1851,153. Type Loxia ludoviciana Linn. Zamelodia Cougs, Bull. Nutt. Orn. Club, v, April, 1880,98. Same type. “Gen. CHar. Bill very large,much swollen; lower mandible scarcely deeper than the upper; feet almost coccothraustine; tarsi and toes very short, the claws stronger and much curved, though blunt. First four primaries longest, and nearly equal, abruptly larger than the fifth. Tail broad, perfectly square. Colors: Black, white and red, or black, cinnamon, yellow, and white, on the male; the females brownish, streaked, with the axillars and lining of the yellow.” (Hist. NV, Am. B.) The only known species of this genus are North American and may be distinguished as follows: Common CHARACTERS. Males. Headand upperparts (except rump) deep black. Two broad bands across coverts, a large patch on base of primaries, and terminal half of inner webs of tail-feathers, pure white. Breast carmine or cinnamon; axillars and lining of wing carmine or gamboge. Females. Black replaced by ochraceous brown; other parts more streaked. H. ludoviciana. Rump and lower parts white; lining of wing, and patch on breast, rosy carmine. Nonuchal collar. Female. Lining of wing saffron-yellow; breast with numerous streaks. Hab. Eastern Province of North America, south, in winter, to Ecuador. H. melanocephala. Rump and lower parts cinnamon; lining of wing and middle of abdomen gamboge-yellow. A nuchal collar of cinnamon. Female. Lining of wing lemon-yellow; breast without streaks; abdomen tinged with lemon-yellow. Habia ludoviciana (Linn.) ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK. Popular synonyms. Roso-breasted Song Grosbeak; Red-breasted Grosbeak; Potato- bug Bird. Loria ludoviciana Linn. §. N. ed. 12, i, 1766, 305.—Wius. Am. Orn. ii, 1810, 135, pl. 17, fig. 2. - Fringilla ludoviciana Bp.—Novtt. Man. i, 1832, 527.—AuD. Orn. Biog. ii, 1834, 166; v, 1839. 513, pl. 127. Guiraca ludoviciana Sw. 1837.—BAtrD, B. N. Am. 1858, 497; Cat. N. Am. B. 1859, No. 380. Goniaphea ludoviciana “BownpitrcH” Couss, Key, 1872, 148; Check List, 1874, No. 193; B. N. W. 1874, 166. Coccoborus ludovicianus AUD. Synop. 1839 183; B. Am. iii. 1841, 209, pl. 205. Hedymeles ludovicianus CABAN. 1851.—B. B. & R. Hist. N. Am. B. ii, 1874, 70, pl. 30, figs. 4, 5. Zamelodia ludoviciana Coves, Bull. Nutt. Orn. Club, v, April, 1880, 98; 2d Check List, 1882, No. 289.—RipGw. Nom. N. Am. B. 1881, No. 244. Loxia rosea Wis. Am, Orp, ii, 1810, 135. FRINGILLIDE—THE FINCHES. 297 i Has. Eastern temperate North America, breeding from about 40° (approximately) north to Labrador and the Saskatchewan; winters in Cuba, eastern Mexico, Central America, and northern South America, as far as Ecuador. ; “Sp. Coan. Upper parts generally, with head and neck all round, glossy black. A broad crescent across the upper part of the breast, extending narrowly down to the belly, axillaries, and under wing-coverts, carmine. Rest of under parts,rump,and upper tail- eoverts, middle wing-coverts, spots on the tertiaries and inner great wing-coverts, basal half of primaries and secondaries, and a large patch on the ends of the inner webs of the outer three tail-feathers, pure white. Length, 8.50 inches; wing, 4.15. “Female without the white of quills, tail,and rump, and without any black or red. Above yellowish brown streaked with darker; head with a central stripe above, anda superciliary on each side, white. Beneath dirty white, streaked with brown on the breast and sides. Under wing-coyerts and axillars saffron-yellow. “In the male the black feathers of the back and sides of the neck have a subterminal white bar. There are afew black spots on the sides of the breast just below the red. “The young male of the year is like the female, except in having the axillaries, under wing-coverts, and a trace of a patch on the breast, light rose-red. “The depth of the carmine tint on the under parts varies a good deal in different speci- mens, but itis always of the same rosy hue.” (Hist. N. Am. B.) As may be conjectured from its name, the Rose-breasted Grosbeak is a lovely bird, the fully adult male being decked with a tricolored plumage of deepest black, purest white, and richest rose-red. In the southern portion of the State the species is transient, passing rather hurriedly through in spring and fall; but in the northern portions (perhaps more than the northern half), it is a summer resident. The Rose-breasted Grosbeak is even more remarkable for its beautiful song than for its richness of plumage, and is therefore, and also on account of other qualities which commend it, highly prized as a cage-bird. Says Dr. Brewer :* “Dr. Hoy, of Racine, supples some interesting information in regard to the habits and nesting of this species. On the 15th of June, within six miles of that city, he found seven nests, all within a space of not over five acres, and he was assured that each year they resort to the same locality and nest thus socially. Six of these nests were in thorn-trees, all within six to ten feet from the ground, and all were in the central portion of the top. Three of the four parent birds sitting on the nests were males, and this he was told was usually the case. When a nest was disturbed, all the neighboring Grosbeaks gathered around and appeared equally inter- ested. Both nest and eggs so closely resemble those of the Tanagers that it is difficult to distinguish them. ‘Their position is, however, usually different, the Grosbeaks generally nesting in the central por- tion of a small tree, the Tanagers being placed on a horizontal limb.” *Hist. N. Am. B. vol. ii, pp. 72,73. BO8 _. SBIRDS OF- ILLINOIS. Nor is the Rose-breasted Grosbeak purely an ornamental bird. On the other hand he is one of the most useful that we have as a destroyer of noxious insects. In many parts of the Mississippi Valley he is known as the ‘‘Potato-bug Bird,” from the fact that he is particularly fond of that most disastrous pest of the farmer, Genus GUIRACA §Swarmson. Guiraca Swainson, Zool. Jour, iii, Noy. 1827,350, Type, Loxia cerulea Linn. “Gen. CHAR. Bill very large, nearly as high as long; the culmen slightly curved with a rather sharp ridge; the commissure conspicuously angulated just below the nos- tril, the posterior Jeg of the angle nearly as long as the anterior, both nearly straight. Lower jaw deeper than the upper, and extending much behind the forehead; the width greater than the length of the gonys,considerably wider than the upper jaw. A promi- nent knob in the roof of the mouth. Tarsi shorter than the middle toe; the outer toe a little longer, reaching not quite to the base of the middle claw; hind toe rather longer than to this base. Wings long, reaching to the middle of the tail; the secondaries and tertials nearly equal; the second quill longest; the first less than the fourth. Tail very nearly even, shorter than the wings,” (Hist, VN. Am. B.) Guiraca ceerulea (Linn.) BLUE GROSBEAK. Loxia cerulea Linn. S. N. ed. 10, i, 1758,175; ed. 12, i, 1766, 306.—Wi1is. Am. Orn. iii, 1811,78, pl. 24, fig. 6. Guiraca cerulea SwWaAtns. 1827.—Bamp, B. N. Am. 1858, 499; Cat. N. Am. B, 1859, No. 382. —B. B. & R, Hist. N. Am. B. ii, 1874, 77, pl. 29, figs. 4,5.—Rip@w. Nom. N. Am. B. 1881, No. 246.—Covugs, 2d Check List, 1882, No* 291. Fringilla cerulea “Tin.” Licut. Preis-Verz. 1823,22.—AupD. Synop. 1839, 132. Goniaphia cerulea Scu. 1856.—CovugEs, Key, 1872, 149; Check List, 1874, No. 195; B. N. W. 1874, 169. Has. Southern United States, from Atlantic to Pacific (very local, and irregularly dis- tributed); north to Kansas, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut (occasionally) or even to Maine and Canada (accidentally). “Sp. Cuar. Brilliant blue; darker across the middle of the back. Space around base of bill and lores, with tail-feathers, black. Two bands on the wing across the tips of the middle and secondary coverts, with outer edges of tertiaries, reddish brown, or perhaps chestnut. Feathers on the posterior portion of the under surface tipped narrowly with grayish white. Length. 7.25; wing, 3.50; tail, 2.80. . . “Female yellowish brown above, brownish yellow beneath; darkest across the breast. Wing-coverts and tertials broadly edged with brownish yellow. Sometimes a faint trace of blue on the tail. The young resembles the female. “Males from the Pacific coast region (California, Colima, etc.) have tails considerably longer than eastern specimens, while those from California are of a much lighter and less purplish blue, the difference being much the same as between Sialia sialis and S, azured. TN i a i Bt 2 tas “ees ee ee ee he ne boa os " FRINGILLIDH—THE FINCHES. 299 ‘Autumnal and winter males have the feathers generally, espe- cially on the back and breast, tipped with light brown, obscuring somewhat the blue, though producing a beautiful appearance.” (Hist. N. Am. B.) So far as we know from the published records, and according to the author’s experience, the Blue Grosbeak would appear to be a rare bird in Illinois, even in the southern part of the State. This, considering the fact that it is not uncommon in other portions of the country in the same latitudes, both along the Atlantic coast and in the interior, as well as in California, is inexplicable, unless to be accounted for by the supposition that it has been overlooked by collectors or that it may be not uncommon in portions of the State where no ornithological investigations have been made. That both explanations are in a measure correct is extremely probable; for not only is the Blue Grosbeak a very local bird, but it is also, not- withstanding its size, a very inconspicuous one. Unless seen under the most favorable circumstances the adult male does not appear to be blue, but of an ill-defined dusky color, and may easily be mistaken for a Cow Blackbird (Molothrus ater) unless most carefully watched; besides, they usually sit motionless, in a watchful attitude, for a considerable length of time, and thus easily escape observation. The Blue Grosbeak frequents much the same localities as those selected by the Indigo Bird and Field Sparrow, viz., the thickets of shrubs, briers and tall weeds lining a stream flowing across a meadow or bordering a field, or the similar growth which has sprung up in an old clearing. The usual note is a strong harsh ptchick, and the song of the male a very beautiful, though rather feeble, warble, somewhat like that of the Purple Finch, but bearing a slight resem- blance also to that of the Rose-breasted Grosbeak. The nest and eggs are like a larger “edition” of those of the Indigo Bird. At least two broods are raised during a season, the writer having found a brood of young, just beginning to fiy, on the 13th of September, in Fairfax county, Virginia, where the species was somewhat common. Genus PASSERINA Vremtor. Passerina VIEILwoT, Analyse, 1816, 30. Type, Tanagra cyanea LINN. Cyanospiza BArrD, B. N. Am. 1858, 500. Same Type. “GEN. CHak. Bill deep at the base, compressed; the upper outline considerably eurved; the commissure rather concave, with an obtuse, shallow lobe in the middle. Gonys slightly curved. Feet moderate; tarsus about equal to middle toe; the outer lateral toe barely longer than the inner, its claws falling short of the base of the middle; hind toe about equal to the middle without claw. Claws all much curved, acute. Wings 300 BIRDS OF ILLINOIS. long and pointed, reaching nearly to the middle of the tail; the second and third quills longest. Tail appreciably shorter than the wings; rather narrow, very nearly even. “The species of this genus are all of very small size, and of showy plumage, usually blue, red, or green, in well-defined areas. The females plain olivaceous or brownish; paler beneath.” (Hist. N. Am. B.) The four species of this genus which have been known to occur in the Eastern Province of the United States may be distinguished by the following characters: A. Wing with two light bands. l. P,amena. Male: Head, neck, and upper parts verditer-blue, duller on the back; breast cinnamon-rufous, the other lower parts white. Female: Above grayish brown, the rump tinged with blue; beneath fulvous-white, the breast more buffy. B. Wing without light bands. 2. P.cyanea. Male: Uniform rich greenish cobalt-blue, the head more ultramarine or smalt blue. Female: Above dull brown; below brownish white, the breast with indistinct darker streaks. 8. P, versicolor. Cutting edge of upper mandible very concave, and culmen much arched. Male: Bluish purple, the ramp undforehead purplish blue, eyelids and occiput dullred. Female: Above grayish brown, beneath brownish white. 4. P.ciris, Male: Eyelids and lower parts vermilion-red; rest of head purplish blue; back bright yellowish green; rump dull red. Female: Dull grass-green above, olivaceous yellow beneath. (Young male similar.) Passerina cyanea (Linn.) INDIGO BUNTING. Popular synonyms. Indigo Bird; Green Bird; Blue Linnet; Green Linnet. Tanagra cyanea Linn. 8. N. ed. 12, i, 1766, 315. Fringilla cyanea Wius. Am. Orn. i, 1810, 100, pl. 6, fig. 5.—Nurr. Man. i, 1832, 473.—AupD. Orn. Biog. i, 1832, 377; v, 1839, 503, pl.74. “ Passerina cyanea ViEIuu. Nom. Dict. xxv, 1817,7; 2d Check List, 1882, No. 295.—Rip@w. Nom. N, Am. B. 1881, No. 248. Spiza cyanea BP. 1838.—AuUD. Synop. 1839, 109; B. Am. iii, 1841, 96, pl. 170. Cyanospiza cyanea BarrD, B. N. Am. 1858, 505; Cat. N. Am. B. 1859, No. 387.—Couuns, Key, 1872, 150; Check List, 1874, No. 199; B. N. W. 1874, 171.—B. B. & R. Hist. N. Am. B. ii, 1874, 82, pl. 30, figs. 13, 17. Has. Eastern United States, north to Maine and Canada, west to the edge of the Great Plains; winters in Central America and Cuba. “Sp. CHar. Male. Blue, tinged with ultramarine on the head, throat, and middle of breast; elsewhere with verdigris-green. Lores and anterior angle of chin velvet-black. Wing-feathers brown, edged externally with dull bluish brown. Female. Brown above; whitish, obscurely streaked or blotched with brownish yellow, beneath; tinged with blue on shoulders, edges of larger feathers, and on rump. Immature males similar, variously blotched with blue. Very young birds streaked beneath. Length, about 5.75 inches; wing nearly 3.00. 2 “In this species, which may be considered the type of the genus, the tail is slightly emarginate; the second quill is longest, the first shorter than the fourth.” (Hist, N, Am. B.) . i : wey 1 FRINGILLIDE—THE FINCHES. 801 This exquisite little bird, so inappropriately named Indigo Bird— for the blue color of the male is not at all like the color of indigo, but on the contrary is the richest cerulean-blue, shading into ultramarine,—is one of our most abundant and most generally distributed summer residents. Itis an associate of the Field Spar- row, Maryland Yellow-throat, Yellow-breasted Chat, and other birds which frequent thickets about the borders of fields, and its sprightly and vigorous, though somewhat harsh song is heard throughout the sultry days of summer, as the singer occupies a prominent position on the summit of a tree, or, as is frequently the case, on a tele- graph wire along a railroad. Passerina ciris (Linn.) PAINTED BUNTING. Popular synonyms. Painted Finch; Nonpareil. Emberiza ciris Linn. 8. N. ed. 10, i, 1758. 177; ed. 12,i1,1766, 313. Fringilla ciris Wis. Am. Orn. iii, 1811, 68, pl. 24, figs. 1,2.—Aup. Orn. Biog. {, 1832, 279; vy, 517, pl. 53. Passerina ciris VIEILu. Gal. Ois. i, 1824, 81, pl. 66—Ripaw. Nom. N. Am. B. 1881, No. 251.—Courgs, 2d Check List, 1882, No. 292. Spiza ciris AUD. Synop. 1839,108; B. Am. iii, 1841, 93, pl. 169. Cyanospiza ciris Batrp, B. N. Am. 1858,503; Cat. N. Am. B. 1859, No. 384.—Cowvgs, Key, 1872, 149; Check List 1874, No. 196.—B. B. & R. Hist. N. Am. B. ii, 1874, 87, pl. 29, figs. 7,8. Has. Southern Atlantic and Gulf States, north to South Carolina and southern Illinois, west to Arizona; south in winter to Panama. “Sp. CHar. Male. Head and neck allaround ultramarine blue, excepting a narrow stripe from the chin to the breast, which, with the under parts generally, the eyelids,and the rump (which is tinged with purplish), are vermilion-red. Edges of chin, loralregion, greater wing-coverts,inner tertiary,and interscapular region,green; the middle of the latter glossed with yellow. Tail-feathers, lesser wing-coverts, and outer webs of quills, purplish blue. Length about 5.50 inches; wing, 2.70. “Female. Clear dark green above; yellowish beneath. Young, like female, “Tail very slightly emarginated and rounded; second, third, and fourth quills equal; first rather shorter than the fifth. “The female is readily distinguishable from that of P. cyanea by the green instead of the dull brown of the back, and the yellow of the under parts.” (Hist. N. Am. B.) The plumage of the Nonpareil, although brilliant, can scarcely be called beautiful, since there is an entire lack of harmony in his tints. The name Painted Bunting is therefore peculiarly appropriate, 302, BIRDS OF ILLINOIS. the juxtaposition of noncomplimentary colors—green, blue, and red —strongly suggesting the inartistic “daubing” of a juvenile would- be artist. So far as the records are concerned, this species claims a place in the Illinois fauna, from the circumstance that a female was seen by the writer on June 10, 1871, close by the roadside, in Wabash county, and under circumstances which allow of no doubt as to correct identification. The date and also the character of the locality suggest the possibility, if not probability, that a pair were breeding in that vicinity. It will doubtless yet be found breeding in the more southern portions of the State. ; The eggs of this species are very different from those of the Indigo Bird, being heavily spotted round the larger end with reddish brown. -: Genus SPIZA Bonaparte. Spiza BonaP. Jour. Phil. Ac. iv, pt.i, Aug, 1824,45—Type, Emberiza americana GMEL. Euspiza BONAP. Saggio, 1832,141. Same type. TLuspina CABAN. Mus. Hein. i, May, 1851, 133. Same type. “GEN. CHAR. Bill large and strong,swollen, and without any ridges; the lower man- dible nearly as high as the upper; as broad at the base as the length of the gonys, and considerably broader than the upper mandible; the edges much inflexed, and shutting much within the upper mandible; the commissure considerably angulated at the base, then decidedly sinuated. The tarsus barely equalto the middle toe; the lateral toes nearly equal, not reaching to the base ofthe middle claw; the hind toe about equal to the middle one withoutits claw. The wings long and acute, reaching nearly to the middle of the tail; the tertials decidedly longer than the secondaries, but much shorter than the primaries; first quill longest, the others regularly graduated. Tail considerably shorter than the wings, though moderately long; nearly even, although slightly emarginate; the outer feathers scarcely shorter. Middle of back only striped; beneath without streaks.” (Hist. N. Am. B.) This genus comes nearest to Calamospiza,-but has shorter tertials, more slender bill, weaker and more curved claws, etc. It is entirely peculiar to North America,* and contains, so far as known, only two species, one of which is so very rare that but a single specimen has ever been obtained. *An Old World Bunting (Emberiza melanocephala Scop.) has been referred to Huspiza, even by some of the leading European authorities; butit is not only generically distinct, but a member of quite a different group of the Family. FRINGILLIDA—THE FINCHES. 8038 SPECIES. $. americana. Top and side of head light slate, or ash-gray; forehead tinged with greenish yellow. A superciliary stripe, a malar spot, side of breast, and middle line of breast and belly, yellow. Chin white, throat black, shoulders chestnut. Female with the black of the throat replaced by a crescentof spots. Hab. Eastern Province of United States; south in winter to New Granada. S. townsendi. Body throughout (including the jugulum), dark ash, tinged with brown- ish on the back and wings. Superciliary and malar stripes, chin, throat, and middle of belly, white. Asubmalar line anda pectoral crescent of black spots. No chestnut on shoulders. Hab. Chester county, Pennsylyania, Spiza americana (Linn.) DICK CISSEL. Popular synonyms. Black-throated Bunting; Little Field Lark; Little Meadowlark. Emberiza americana GMEL. 8. N. i,1788,871.—Wus. Am. Orn. i, 1808, 411; iii, 1811, 86, pl. 3. fig. 2—Nurr. Man. i, 1832, 461.—Aup. Orn. Biog. iv, 1838, 579, pl. 384; Synop. 1839, 101; B. Am. iii, 1841, 58, pl. 156. Euspiza americana BP. 1838.—Barrp, B. N. Am. 1858, 494; Cat. N. Am. B. 1859, No. 378. —CougEs, Key. 1872, 148; Check List, 1874, No. 191; B. N. W. 1874, 165; B. B. & R. Hist. N. Am. B. ii, 1874, 65, pl. 28, figs. 11,12. Spiza americana Ripew. Nom. N. Am. B. No. 254.—Coves, 2d Check List, 1882, No. 287. Has. Eastern United States in summer, north to Connecticut and Massachusetts (rarely); west to the Great Plains, and, during migration, to Arizona. Winters within the Tropics, as far south as Colombia. “Sp. CHar. Male. Sides of the head, and sides and back of the neck ash; crown tinged with yellowish green and faintly streaked with dusky. A superciliary and short maxillary line, middle of the breast, axillaries, and edge of the wing yellow. Chin, loral region, patch on side of throat, belly, and under tail-coverts white. -A black patch on the throat diminishing to the breast, and endingin a spot on the upper part of the belly. Wing-coverts chestnut. Interscapular region streaked with black; rest of back im- maculate. Length,about 6.70; wing, 3.50. “Female with the markings less distinctly indicated; the black of the breast re- placed by a black maxillary line and streaked collar in the yellow of the upper part of the breast. ; “Among adult males, scarcely two individuals exactly alike can be found. In some the black of the throat is continued in blotches down the middle of the breast, while in others it is restricted to a spot immediately under the head. These variations are not at all dependent upon any difference of habitat, for specimens from remote regions from each other may be found as nearly alike as any from the same locality.” (Hist. N. Am. B.) While some other birds are equally numerous, there are few that announce their presence as persistently as this species. All day long, in spring and summer, the males, sometimes to the number of a dozen or more for each meadow of considerable extent, perch 304 BIRDS OF ILLINOIS. upon the summits of tall weed-stalks or fence-stakes, at short intervals crying out: “See, see,—Dick, Dick-Cissel, Cissel;” therefore “Dick Cissel” is well known to every farmer’s boy as well as to all who visit the country during the season of cloyer-blooms and wild roses, when “Dame Nature” is in her most joyous mood. Perhaps the prevalent popular name of this species is ‘Little Field Lark” or “Little Meadow Lark,” a name suggested by his yellow breast and black jugular spot, which recall strongly the similar markings of the Stwrnella, and also the fact that the two frequent similar localities. The name “Black-throated Bunting” is probably never heard except from those who have learned it from the books. The location of the nest varies much with locality, though probably not more than in the case of many other species. At Mount Carmel, all that I found were in clover fields, and built upon or very close to the ground. In Richland county they were almost invariably built in small clumps of coarse weeds, at a height of about a foot above the ground. In Wisconsin, however, accord- ing to Dr. Brewer (Hist. N. Am. B. Vol. II., p. 68), Dr. P. R. Hoy, of Racine has never found a nest within one foot of the ground, some of them being as elevated as six feet. Of nineteen nests dis- covered by Dr. Hoy during one season, ‘‘ten were built im goose- berry bushes, four on thorn bushes, three among blackberry bushes, one on a raspberry bush, and one on a wild rose.” ICTERIDE—THE AMERICAN ORIOLES, 305 Famny ICTERID 2.—Tae American ORIoLEs. “CHAR. Primaries nine. Tarsi scutellate anteriorly; plated behind. Bill long, generally equal to the head or longer, straight, or gently curved, conical, without any notch, the commissure bending downwards at an obtuse angle at the base. ‘ Gonys generally more than half the culmen, no bristles about the base of bill. Basal joint of the middle toe free on the inner side; united half-way on the outer, ‘Tail rather long, rounded. Legs short.” (Hist. N. Am. B.) This family is one of those eminently characteristic of the New World, all the species being peculiar to America. It is of course most numerously represented within the Tropics. Three “subfamilies” have been defined, but their limits are purely arbitrary, it being in some cases difficult to decide whether a species belongs to the genus Icterus or Agelaius, each typical, respectively, of the so-called “Jcterine” and “Agelaine.” These artificial sections are thus defined in History of North American Birds (Vol. IL, page 147: Agelaine, Bill shorter than, or about equal to, the head; thick, conical, both mandi- bles about equalin depth; the outlines all more or less straight, the bill not decurved at tip. Tail rather short, nearly even or slightly rounded. Legs longer than the head, adapted for walking; claws moderately curved. Icterinez, Bill rather slender, about as long as the head; either straight or decurved. Lower mandible less thick than the upper; the commissure not sinuated. Tarsi not longer than the head, nor than middle toe; legs adapted for perching. Claws much eurved. Quiscaline, Tail lengthened, considerably or excessively graduated. Bill as long as, or longer than, the head; the culmen curved towards the end, the tip bent down, the cutting edges inflexed, the commissure sinuated. Legs longer than the head, fitted for walking. The North American genera may be thus arranged under their re- spective “subfamily” headings : Subfanily Agelaine. A. Bill shorter than the head. Feathers of head and nostrils as in B. 1. Dolichonyx. Tailfeathers with rigid stiffened acuminate points. Middle toe very long, exceeding the head. 2. Molothrus., Tail with the feathers simple; middle toe shorter than the tarsus or head. B. Billas long asthe head. Feathers of crown soft. Nostrils covered by a scale which | is Sosa ie or less downwards, BOG ° BIRDS OF ILLINOis. 3. Agelaius, First quill shorter than the second and third. Outer lateral claws scarcely reaching to the base of middle; claws moderate. 4. Xanthocephalus. First quill longest Outer lateral claw reaching nearly to the tip of the middle. Toes and claws all much elongated. C. Billas long as, or longer than, the head. Feathers of crown with the shafts pro- longed into stiffened bristles. Nostrils covered by a scale which stands out more or less horizontally. 5. Sturnella, Tail feathers acute. Middle toe equal to the tarsus. Subfamily Icterine. 6. Icterus. Bill slender, acute, sometimes slightly decurved, about as: long as, or a little shorter than, the head. Nostrilsasin Agelaius. Tail rounded or graduated, about as long as, or slightly longer than, the wing.* Subfamily Quiscaline. 7. Scolecophagus, Tail shorter than the wings; nearly even. Bill shorter than the head. ; 8. Quiscalus. Taillongerthan the wings; muchgraduated. Billas long as, or longer than, the head. The three so-called subfamilies represent, superficially, three Old World families; viz.: The Agelaine may be said to correspond to the Starlings (Sturnide), and have been called the American Star-. lings; the Jcterine may likewise be compared with the Orioles (Oriolide), and in fact currently, though very improperly, bear the same name. For want of a more distinctive term, that of American Orioles is perhaps defensible, the name “Hang-nests,” while very’ appropriate for the Icterine, lacking sufficiently exclusive pertinence to make it preferable. The Quiscaline are very appropriately called Crow-Blackbirds, but they have been termed Grakles by many authors, on account of a supposed resemblance to the true Grakles, or Minos, (Graculide) of Southern Asia. Some of the Agelaine (notably the genera Dolichonyx and Moloth- rus) present a very close resemblance to certain Fringillide in their general form, especially in the shortness and conical shape of the, bill. They may, however, be readily separated by the family char-’ acters, as given on page 43. All of the genera characterized in the above synopsis belong to the Illinois fauna, no others occurring in North America. * Decidedly shorter than the wing in the subgenus Yphantes, to which the Baltimore and Bullock’s Orioles (J, galbula and I. bullocki) belong. koe aA he aR SL eee Pie We, Cade Se ICTERIDE—THE AMERICAN ORIOLES. 307 Genus DOLICHONYX Swarsson. Dolichonyz Swaryson, Zo6l. Journ. iii, 1827, 351. Type, Emberiza oryzivora LINN. “Gen. CHAR. Bill, short, stout, conical, little more than half the head; the commissure slightly sinuated; the culmen nearly straight. Middle toe considerably longer than the’ tarsus (which is about as long as the head); the inner lateral toe longest, but not reach- ing the base of the middle claw. Wings long; first quill longer. Tail-feathers acumi-, nately pointed at the tip, with the shatt stiffened and rigid, as in the Woodpeckers. “The peculiar characteristic of this genus is found in the rigid acuminate tail-feathers and the very long middle toe, by means of which it is enabled to grasp the vertical stems of reeds or other slender plants.” (Hist. N. Am. B.) A peculiarity in the plumage of the only known species is that while the adult male in spring is deep black varied with buff nape and whitish scapulars and rump, this livery is changed at the end of the breeding season for a sober one of streaked yellowish, like that worn by the female throughout the year. Dolichonyx oryzivorus (Linn.) BOBOLINK. Popular synonyms. Bob Lincoln; Skunk Blackbird (Northern States); Reed Bird, Orto- lan (Atlantic coastin Autumn); Rice Bird (South Carolina and Georgia); Butter Bird (Jamaica). Emberiza oryzivora Linn. 8. N. ed. 10,i, 1758, 179; ed. 12, i, 1766, 311.—Wins. Am. Orn. ii, 1810, 48, pl. 12, figs. 1,2. Dolichonyz oryzivorus Swatn's Zool. Jour. iii, 1827,351.—AubD. Synop. 1839 138; B. Am. iv, 1842. 10, pl. 211.—Barrp, B. N. Am. 1858, 522; Cat. N. Am. B. 1859, No. 399.—Covugs, Key, 1872, 154; Check List, 1874, No. 210; B. N. W. 1874, 178; 2d Check List, 1882, No. 312.—B. B. & R. Hist. N. Am. B. ii, 1874, 149, pl. 32, figs. 4,5.—Ripaw. Nom. N. Am. B. 1881, No. 257. Icterus agripennis Bonar. Obs. Wilson, 1824, No. 87.—Nutr. Man. i,1832,185.—AupD. Orn. Biog. i, 1831, 283; v, 1839, 486, pl. 54. Haz. Eastern North America,north to the Saskatchewan (lat. 60°), west to or even be- yond the Rocky Mountains (Ruby Valley, Nevada, and Salt Lake Valley, Utah,in Septem- ber); in winter, south through Middle America, West Indies, and South America, to Bolivia, Argentine Republic, and Paraguay; Galapagos. “Sp. CHar. General color of male in spring, black; the nape, brownish cream-color; a patch on the side of the breast, the scapulars, and rump, white, shading into light ash on the upper tail-coverts and the back below the interscapular region. The outer pri- maries sharply margined with yellowish white; the tertials less abruptly; the tail- feathers margined at the tips with pale brownishash. In autumn totally different, re- sembling the female. “Female, yellowish beneath; two stripes on the top of the head,and the upper parts throughout, except the back of the neck and rump, and including all the wing feathers generally, dark brown,all edged with brownish yellow, which becomes whiter near the tips of the quills. The sides sparsely streaked with dark brown, and asimilar stripe behind the eye. There is a superciliary and a median band of yellow on the head: Length of male,7.70; wing,3.83; tail,3.15.” (Hist. N. Am. B, vol. ii, 149.) ! 308 BIRDS OF ILLINOIS. In History of North American Birds (Vol. II., pp. 150, 151), Dr. Brewer thus describes the habits and song of this species: “In the earliest approaches of spring, in Louisiana, when small flocks of male Bobolinks made their first appearance, they are said by Mr. Audubon, to sing in concert; and their song thus given is at once exceedingly novel, interesting, and striking. Uttered witha volubility that even borders upon the burlesque and the ludicrous, the whole effect is greatly heightened by the sineular and striking manner in which first one singer and then another, one following: the other, until all have joined their voices, take up the note and strike in, after the leader has set the example and given the signal. In this manner sometimes a party of thirty or forty Bobolinks will begin, one after the other, until the whole unite in producing an extraordinary medley, to which no pen can do justice, but which is: described as very pleasant to listen to. All at once the music ceases with a suddenness not less striking and extraordinary. These con- certs are repeated from time to time, usually as often as the flock alights. * ce * In New England the Bobolink treats us to no such concerts as those described by Audubon, where many voices join in creating their peculiar, jingling melody. When they first ap- pear, usually after the middle of May, they are in small parties, composed of either sex, absorbed in their courtships and overflow- ing with song. When two or three male Bobolinks, decked out in their gayest spring apparel, are paying their attentions to the same drab-colored. female, contrasting so strikingly in her sober brown dress, their performances are quite entertaining, each male endeav- oring to out-sing the other. The female appears coy and retiring, keeping closely to the ground, but always attended by the several aspirants for her affection. After a contest, often quite exciting, the rivalries are adjusted, the rejected suitors are driven off by their more fortunate competitor, and the happy pair begin to put in order anew home. It isin their love-quarrels that their song appears to the greatest advantage. They pour out incessantly their strains of quaint but charming music, now on the ground, now on the wing, now on the top of a fence, a low bush, or the swaying stalk of a plant that bends with their weight. The great length of their song, the immense number of short and variable notes of which it is com- posed, the volubility and confused rapidity with which they are poured forth, the eccentric breaks, in the midst of which we detect the words ‘‘bob-o-link” so distinctly enunciated, unite to form a i i Le | 4 {CTERIDE—THE AMERICAN ORIOLES. 809 general result to which we can find no parallel in any of the musical performances of our other song-birds. It is at once a unique and a charming production. Nuttall speaks of their song as monotonous, which is neither true nor consistent with his own description of it. To other ears they seem ever wonderfully full of variety, pathos and beauty. “The young, in due time, assume the development of mature birds, and all wear the sober plumage of the mother. And now there also appears a surprising change in the appearance of our gayly attired musician. His showy plumage of contrasting white and black, so conspicuous and striking, changes with almost instant rapidity into brown and drab, until he is no longer distinguishable, either by plumage or note, from his mate or young.” One would suppose that the terrible slaughter carried into the ranks of this species during its autumnal migration would materially Giminish its numbers. That this has been the result is a fact which has been noted by many persons resident in those portions of the country where the Bobolink is a familiar summer sojourner. The Bobolink breeds only in the northern part of Illinois, where, according to Mr. Coale, it’s an abundant summer resident. In the middle and southern portions of the State it is transient only, merely passing hurriedly through in spring and fall, but so different in plumage and habits during the two seasons that probably few persons suspect their being the same bird. Genus MOLOTHRUS Swarnson. Molothrus SwAINson, F. Bor.-Am. ii, 1831, 277. Type, Fringilla pecoris Gu.,=Oriolus ater Bopp. : “Gen. CHAR. Bill short, stout, about two thirds the length of head; the commissure straight, culmen and gonys slightly curved, convex, the former broad, rounded, convex, and running back on the headina point. Lateral toes nearly equal,reaching the base of the middle one, which is shorter than the tarsus; claws rather small. Tail nearly even; wings long, pointed, the first quill longest. As faras known,the species make no nest, but deposit the eggs in the nests of other, usually smaller, birds. “The genus Molothrus has the bill intermediate between Dolichonyx and Agelaius. It has the culmen unusually broad between the nos- trils, and it extends back some distance into the forehead. The difference in the structure of the feet from Dolichonyx is very great. “Species of Molothrus resemble some of the Fringillide more than most of the typical Icteride. ‘The bill is, however, different, the tip 310 BIRDS OF ILLINOIS. being without notch; the culmen running back farther on the fore- head, the nostrils being situated fully one third or more of the total length from its posterior extremity. The entire absence of notch in the bill and of bristles along the rictus are strong features. The nostrils are perfectly free from any overhanging feathers or bristles. The pointed wings, with the first quill longest, or nearly equal to second, and the tail with its broad rounded feathers, shorter than the wings, are additional features to be specially noted. (Hist. N. Am. B.) Molothrus ater (Bodd.) COWBIRD. Popular synonyms. Cow Blackbird; Cow-pen Bunting; Lazy Bird (Connecticut); Clod- hopper. Oriolus ater Bopp. Tabl. P. E. 1783. 37. Molothrus ater GRAY, 1870.—Ridgw. Nom. N. Am. B. 1881, No. 258.—Cougs, 2d Check List, No. 313, Frin illa pecoris GME. 8S. N. i, 1788,910 (female). Emberiza pecoris Wiis. Am. Orn. ii, 1810,145, pl. 18, figs. 1,2,3. Icterus pecoris Bp. 1824.—NuttT. Man. i, 1832, 178.—AvuD. Orn. Biog. i, 1831, 493; v, 1839, 283, 400, pls. 99, 424. Molothrus pecoris Sw. & Ricu. F. B. A. ii, 1831,277—Aup. Synop. 1839, 139; B. Am. iv, 1842, 16. pl. 212—Batrp, B. N. Am. 1858, 524; Cat. N. Am. B. 1859, No. 400.—Covgs, Key, 1872, 155; Check List 1874, No, 211; B. N. W. 1874, 180.—B. B. & R. Hist. N. Am. B. ii, 1874, 154, pl. 32, figs. 6,7. Fringilla ambigua Nur. Man. i, 1832,484 (= young). Haz. Temperate North America (except Pacific Coast?), north to about 68°; breeds chiefly north of 35°, and winters mainly south of the same parallel, down to southern border of the United States. “Sp. CHar. Second quill longest; first scarcely shorter. Tail nearly even, or very slightly rounded. Male with the head,neck,and anterior half of the breast light choco- late brown, rather lighter above; rest of body lustrous black, with a violet-purple gloss next to the brown, of steel-blue on the back,and of green elsewhere. Female light oliva- ceous brown all over, lighter on the head and beneath. Bill and feet black. Length, 8 inches; wing, 4.42; tail, 3.40. “The young bird of the year is brown above, brownish white be- neath: the throat immaculate. A maxillary stripe and obscure streaks thickly crowded across the whole breast and sides. There is a faint indication of a paler superciliary stripe. The feathers of the ‘upper parts are all margined with paler. There are also indications ‘of light bands on the wings. These markings are all obscure, but perfectly appreciable, and their existence in adult birds of any species ‘may be considered as embryonic, and showing an inferiority in de- gree to the species with the under parts perfectly plain.” (Hist. N. Am. B.) a ICTERIDH—THE AMERICAN ORIOLES. 311 The Cowbird is a common species throughout the State. It is resident southward, but only a summer sojourner in the northern portions. It is at all seasons gregarious, associating in small flocks, which follow the furrow made by the ploughman or keep company with the cattle, often alighting upon their backs. The Cowbird builds no nest, but lays its eggs surreptitiously in the nests of other birds. In this it evinces no preference, except that a species smaller than itself is usually selected, and never one very much its superior in size; usually a very much smaller bird is thus imposed on. - It makes no attempt, however, to select a species whose eggs more or less resemble its own, but drops its eggs indiscriminately in nests whose owners lay white eggs, plain blue eggs, or speckled eggs. The number of these parasitic eggs which may be found in one nest varies from one to five, and it may be that, in some cases at least, all are deposited by one bird, although it is equally probable that sometimes the eggs of two or more individuals are dropped in the same nest. It is interesting to watch the female when she is searching for a nest in which to deposit the egg she is about to lay. She hunts stealthily through the woods, usually among the undergrowth, and when a nest is discovered, patiently awaits from a conyenient hiding place the temporary absence of the parent, when the nest is stealthily and hastily inspected, and if found suitable she takes possession and deposits her ege, when she departs as quietly as she came. The male Cowbird is polygamous, and becomes quite amorous durmg the breeding season, parading before the females with spread wings and tail, now and then swelling up until he seems ready to burst; but the looked-for catastrophe is prevented by the emission of a ridiculous squeaking song, when he subsides to his original proportions. Grenus XANTHOCEPHALUS Bonaparte. Xanthocephalus Bonap. Conspectus, i, 1850, 431. Type, [cterus icterocephalus BoNnApP. “Gen. CHAR. Bill conical, the length about twice the height; the outlines nearly straight. Claws all very long; much curved; the inner lateral the longest, reaching beyond the middle of the middle claw. Tail narrow, nearly even, the outer web scarcely widening to the end. Wings long, much longer than the tail; the first quill longest.” (Hist. N. Am. B.) This genus differs from Agelaius in much longer and more curved claws, and in haying first or second quill longest, instead of the longest being the second, third, or fourth. 812 BIRDS OF ILLINOIS. There is even a greater discrepancy in size between the sexes, the female being scarcely more than half the bulk of the male. ‘The latter is black, with the head, neck, and jugulum yellow. Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus (Bonap.) YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD. Icierus xanthocephalus Br. Jour. Phil. Ac. v, 1826, 222—AuD. Biog. v. 1839, 6, pl. 388. Agelaius xanthocephalus Sw. & Ric, F. B.-A. ii, 1831, 281—AupD. Synop. 1839, 240; B. Am, iv, 1842, 24, pl. 213. Agelaius longipes Sw. Philo. Mag. i, 1827, 436. Icterus perspicillatus WAGL. Isis, 1829, 758. Icterus icterocephalus Bp. Am. Orn. i, 1835, 27, pl.3.—Nurr. Man. i, 1832, 176; 2d ed. 1840, 187. ° Xanthocephalus icterocephalus Batrp, B. N. Am. 1858,531; Cat. N. Am. B. 1859, No. 404.—CovuEs, Key 1872,156; Check List,1874,No. 213; 2d ed. 1882,No. 319; B. N. W. 1874, 188.—B. B. & R. Hist. N. Am. B. ii, 1874, 167, pl. 32, flg. 9. pl. 33, fig. 9.—Ripew. Nom. N. Am. B. 1881, No. 260. Has. Western North America, regularly to Wisconsin, Illinois, Kansas, etce., (casually) to Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Florida and Cuba, north to the Saskatche- wan, and south into Mexico. Accidental in Greenland. Sp. CHar. Adult malein summer. Head, neck, and jugulum yellow, varying from a lemon to arich orange shade—very rarely to a pinkish saffron hue; primary coverts and lower greater wing-coverts white; rest of plumage uniform dull black, the lower portion of the tibie and the feathers immediately surrounding the anus yellow; lores, eyelids and feathers bordering the base of the bill, also black. Adult male in winter. Similar, but top of the head and nape washed with dusky. Totallength about 105¢-11% inches; extent 17-1814; wing 5.65-5.80; tail 4.50-4.85; culmen .90; tarsus 1.30; middle toe 1.05, Adult emale. Brownish dusky, the throat and jugulum dull yellow, the middle of the breast mixed with whitish. Total length about 9 inches; extent 1436; wing 4.40-4.65; tail 4.50-4.70. Young male in first winter. Similar to the adult female, but larger and deeper colored. Young, first plumage. General color light isabella-brown, or dull brownish buff, the wings and tail dusky. The Yellow-headed Blackbird appears to be confined to the prairie districts of the northern portion of the State; at least there seems to be no record of its occurrence elsewhere. The writer thought he once heard its note at Mt. Carmel, but was unable to discover the bird, and may have been mistaken; and he was never able to find iton the prairies of Richland county, in marshy situation where the. Red-wings were abundant. In Cook county, Mr. Nelson says (page 111 of his list) that it is a “very common resident in large marshes. Arrives the first of May. Commences nesting the last of this month. Owing to the restricted localities inhabited by this bird, it is very slightly known among farmers; even those living next the marshes, generally think it an uncommon bird. My observations regarding the actions of the males during incubation do not agree with those of Dr. Coues (“Birds of the Northwest,” p. 190). The only difference between the habits of the male and female is the slightly WG eg Ne ICTERIDE—THE AMERICAN ORIOLES. 313 additional shyness of the former. Their nests vary endlessly in size, from four to twelve inches in depth, although the latter size is rather uncommon.” Mr. Coale informs me that colonies nest in rushes in the Calumet marshes, that they are bold and interesting, and that he has seen adults on the ground along country roads, some distance from water. Grenus AGELAIUS Vrieittor. Agelaius Virrwor, Analyse, 1816,33. Type, Oriolus pheniceus LINN. . “GEN. CHAR. First quill shorter than second; claws short; the outer lateral scarcely reaching the base of the middle. Culmen depressed at base, parting the frontal feathers; length equal to that of the head, shorterthan tarsus. Both mandibles of equalthickness and acute at tip, the edges much curved, the culmen, gonys, and commissure nearly straight or slightly sinuated; the length of bill about twice its height. Tail moderate, rounded, or very slightly graduated. Wings pointed, reaching to end of lower tail-coy- erts. Colors black with red shouldersin North American species. One West Indian with orange-buff. Females streaked except in two West Indian species. “The nostrils are small, oblong, overhung by a membranous scale. The bill is higher than broad at the base. There is no division between the anterior tarsal scutelle and the single plate on the out- side of the tarsus.” (Hist. N. Am. B.) This genus is represented in eastern North America by a single species, the common Red-winged Blackbird (A pheeniceus). Agelaius phoeniceus (Linn.) RED-WINGED BLACKBIED. Popular synonyms. Red-winged Starling or Blackbird; Red-and-buff-shouldered Black- bird; Red-shouldered Blackbird; Swamp Blackbird, Oriolus pheniceus Linn. 8. N. ed. 12, i, 1766, 161. Agelaius pheniceus VrEILu. Analyse, 1816.—AuD. Synop. 1839,141; B. Am. iv, 1842, 31, 216, —Barrp, B. N. Am. 1858, 526; Cat. N. Am. B. 1859, No. 401—Covgs, Key, 1872. 156; Check List, 1874, No. 212; 2d ed. 1882, No. 316; B. N. W. 1874, 186, (part).—B. B. & Re Hist. N. Am. B. ii, 1874, 159 pl. 3, figs. 1, 2,3—Ripew. Nom. N. Am. B. 1881, No. 261. Icterus pheniceus “Daun.” Licut. 1823.—NutTtT. Man. i, 1832, 169.—AuD. Orn. Biog. i, 1831, 348; v, 1839, 487, pl. 67. Sturnus predatorius Wits. Am. Orn. iv, 1811,30,pl. 30, fig. 1. Hae. Temperate North America, more rare on Pacific coast, where represented by analliedspecies A. gubernator WaGu.; north to the “Fur Countries,” south, in winter to Costa Rica, but wintering, more or less regularly, north to 35° or further. Bahamas, but not in Cuba, where represented by A. assimilis. Accidental in England. Sp. CHar. Adult male. Uniform deep black, the lesser wing-coverts brilliant scarlet, the middle wing-coverts buif or ochraceous. Bill and feet deep black, iris brown. Total length (fresh), about 9.00-9.50 inches; extent, 14.50-15.75. Adult female. Above dusky grayish brown, the feathers narrowly edged with light grayish, rusty, ete.; beneath 314 BIRDS OF ILLINOIS. white, broadly streaked with dusky, the chin, and throat. sometimes sides of head also, usually more orless tinged with buff or pink. Lesser wing-coverts sometimes dark brown red. Total length (fresh), 7.45-8.25; extent, 12.15-13.00. “First plumage,female. Above dark seal-brown; every feather of the crown, nape and interscapular region, with the greater and middle wing-coverts, primaries, secondaries, and tertiaries, edged and tipped with brownish fulvous. Beneath light yellowish-brown, thickly and broadly streaked everywhere with dull black. Sides of throat and head, including a considerable space around the eye, bare skin (of a brownish orange color in the dried specimen), with a few seattering pin-feathers. (From a specimen in my collection obtained at Cambridge, Mass., June 24, 1872.) Males in first plumage, before me, differ but little from the indivi- dual above described. All have the bare spaces on the sides of the throat, although these are feathered before the first moult is begun. A male in transitional dress (collected at Ipswich, Mass., July 15,1874), with the head fu'ly feathered, has the throat dull brownish yellow, with a strong tinge of the same color on the breast. The wing and tail-feathers are renewed during the first moult. “Autumnal plumage: young male. Crown dark brown, with a faint rusty edging upon each feather; nape brownish yellow, with a rusty tinge, finely spotted with a dark brown; interscapular region, and a broad outer edging upon the'secondaries and tertia- ries,deep dull reddish-brown, each feather having a broad V-shaped mark of dull black. Rump glossy black,every feather edged with fulvous ashy; shoulder dull red with black spotting; middle coverts fulvous; greater coverts tipped with the same color. Super- ciliary stripe brownish yellow. A space anterior toand beneath the eye dusky black. Entire under parts black, each feather upon the ab lomen edged broadly with pale ashy, elsewhere with yellowish brown. The light edging of the feathers gives the under parts a conspicuously scutellate appearance. (Froma specimen in my collection taken at Cambridge, Mass., October 6,1776.) This plumage (although not to my knowledge pre- ‘viously described by writers) is the characteristic one of the young inautumn. Iam un- able to state if the adult male retains his uniform black coloring at all seasons. A re- murkable variation from the typical plumage is afforded by a fine adult male in my eabinet, which has a broad crescentie patch of pale yellow tinged with rose-colorupon ‘the breast.. Nor is this specimen unique, for I have seen several others with a similar but less conspicuous mark. It probably represents an exceptionally high condition or phase of ornamentation, like the commoner one of scarlet or yellow wing-markings, in the Searlet Tanager (Pyranga rubra). Very old females of A. pheniceus have the throat a delicate peach-color; illustrated by several specimens in my cabinet from Nantucket and Ipswitch, Mass.” (BREWSTER, Bull. Nutt. Orn. Club, Oct., 1878, p. 175.) ii The common Red-winged Blackbird is one of our most abundant and best known birds. Every marsh and open swamp is inhabited by numbers in the spring and summer, while in autumn they col- lect in large flocks, sometimes of such extent as to cause serious damage to the farmer’s grain stacks. In the extreme southern por- tion of the State they sometimes winter, congregating in large flocks, from which they daily sally forth to forage over the surrounding country. Even during the spring and summer the Redwings are gregarious, for they breed in communities, hundreds of pairs sometimes nesting in one marsh. The males are polygamous, each having under his protection from two to three or four demure looking females, hardly half his size, and dressed in homely garb, who attend quietly and assiduously to their domestic duties, while their lord and master ICTERIDH—THE AMERICAN ORIOLES. 315 mounts guard upon some prominent perch near by, and cheers them with his song. This song, while in a measure harsh, has yet a peculiar metallic resonance which renders it not unpleasant; and when the songs of many individuals are blended the resulting chorus is decidedly musical. The normal, or usual, song sounds like con’- cur-ee’, but there are many variations from this modulation. When singing, the male bends forward his body, swells his plumage, and by some peculiar adjustment of the wings brings his scarlet epaulettes into striking prominence; and when he sallies from his perch to make the regular round of inspection over his harem these splendid decorations flash forth with rich brilliancy, no doubt to the admira- tion of the faithful creatures for whom the display is intended. The nest of the Red-winged Blackbird is very variously situated, but itis always in or in very close proximity to a swamp or marsh. It is placed either among rank grasses or sedges, rushes, or other marsh plants, or in bushes growing in the water; and on one oc- casion the writer found a colony which had built their nests in “sage bushes” (Artemisia tridentata) growing in and about a shallow alka- line pond, on Antelope Island, in the Great Salt Lake. The most noteworthy departure from the usual situation, however, known to the author, was that of a nest built in a small elm tree standing in the middle of a moderately dry meadow, and placed ata height of about fifteen feet from the ground. Genus STURNELLA Viemtor. Sturnella Vre1Luot, Analyse, 1816, 31. Type, Alauda magna LINN. “Gen. CHAR. Body thick, stout: legs large, toes reaching beyond the tail. Tail short, even, with narrow acuminate feathers. Bill slender, elongated; length about three times the height; commissure straight from the basal angle. Culmen flattened basally, extending backwards and parting the frontal feathers; longer than the head, but shorter than tarsus. Nostrils linear, covered by an incumbent membranous scale. Inner lateral toe longer than the outer, but not reaching to basal joint of middle, whichis equal to the tarsus. Hind claw nearly twice as longas the middle. Feathers of head stiffened and bristly; the shafts of those above extended into a black seta. Tertials nearly equal to the primaries: Feathers above alltransversely banded. Beneath yellow, with a black pectoral crescent.” (Hist. NV. Am. B.) - Two quite distinct though very similar species of Sturnella are found in Illinois, one of them belonging exclusively to the eastern and the other to the western portions of the United States, but occurring together in the prairie districts of the Mississippi Valley, especially west of the Mississippi River. 316 BIRDS OF ILLINOIS. These may be distinguished by the following characters: 1. §.magna. Yellow ofthroat confined strictly between the maxillx. Lateral stripes of the crown with black predominating; upper parts with much black,and with the dark bars of the tertials and middle tail-feathers usually connected along the middle line of the feathers. Hab. Eastern United States to the border of the Great Plains. 2. §. neglecta, Yellow of the throat extending over the maxille nearly or quite to the angle of the mouth. Lateral crown stripes streaked with black and grayish in neerly equul amount; upper parts with less black, the dark bars of the tertials and middle tail- feathers not connected. Hab, Western United States and western Mexico, eust to the prairie districts of the Mississippi Valley. _ It is sometimes rather difficult to distinguish specimens of these two species; but the most casual observer of birds may readily dis- tinguish them in life by their totally different notes—probably no two species of any genus of birds being more distinct in this respect. Sturnella magna (Linn.) MEADOWLARK. Popular synonyms. Fieldlark; Old Field Lark. Alauda magna Linn. S. N. ed. 10,i, 1758, 167.—Wis. Am. Orn. iii,1811,20, pl. 19. Sturnella magna BairD, B. N. Am. 1858, 535; Cat. N. Am. B. 1859, No. 406.—Covuss, Key, 1872, 157; 2d ed. 1884, 406; Check List, 1874, No. 214; 2d ed. 1882, No. 320; B. N. W. 1874, 190 (part).—B. B. & R. Hist. N. Am. B. ii, 1874, 174, pl. 34, fig. 2.—Ripew. Nom. N. Am. B. 1881, No. 263. Sturnus ludovicianus Linn. 8. N. ed. 12, i, 1766, 290.—Nutr. Man. i, 1832,147.—AupD. Orn. Biog. ii, 1834,216; v, 1889, 492, pl. 136. Sturnella ludoviciana Sw. 1831.—AupD. Synop. 1839, 148; B. Am. iv, 1842,70,pl. 228. Has. Eastern United States and British Provinces (north to about 53° in the interior), west to the edge of the Great Plains; winters chiefly south of 38°, Accidental in England. “Sp. CHar. Thefeathersabove dark brown;margined with brownish white. and with a terminal blotch of pale reddish brown. Exposed portions of wings and tail with dark brown bars, which on the middle tail-feathers are confluent along the shaft. Beneath yellow, with a black pectoral crescent, the yellow not extending on the side of the maxilla; sides, crissum,and tibiz pale reddish brown,streaked with blackish.