A History of North American Birds, Land Birds. Volume 2

Habits. The Lazuli Finch was first obtained by Mr. Say, who met with it in Long’s expedition. It was observed, though rarely, along the banks of the Arkansas River during the summer months, as far as the base of the Rocky Mountains. It was said to frequent the bushy valleys, keeping much in the grass, after its food, and seldom alighting on either trees or shrubs.

Townsend, who found this rather a common bird on the Columbia, regarded it as shy and retiring in its habits, the female being very rarely seen. It possesses lively and pleasing powers of song, which it pours forth from the upper branches of low trees. Its nests were usually found placed in willows along the margins of streams, and were composed of small sticks, fine grasses, and buffalo-hair.

Mr. Nuttall found the nest of this bird fastened between the stem and two branches of a large fern. It was funnel-shaped, being six inches in height and three in breadth.

This bird possibly occurs quite rarely, as far east as the Mississippi, as I have what is said to be its egg taken from a nest near St. Louis. It only becomes abundant on the plains. Mr. Ridgway found it very generally distributed throughout his route, inhabiting all the bushy localities in the fertile districts. He regarded it as, in nearly every respect, the exact counterpart of the eastern C. cyanea. The notes of the two birds are so exactly the same that their song would be undistinguishable but for the fact that in the amœna it is appreciably weaker. He found their nests usually in the low limbs of trees, near their extremity, and only a few feet from the ground. Mr. J. A. Allen found this species common in Colorado, more so among the foot-hills than on the plains, but does not appear to have met with it in Kansas.

This species, Mr. Lord states, visits Vancouver Island and British Columbia early in the summer, arriving at the island in May, and rather later east of the Cascades. The song of the male is said to be feeble, and only now and then indulged in, as if to cheer his more sombre partner during incubation. The nest, he adds, is round and open at the top, composed of various materials worked together, lined with hair, and placed in a low bush, usually by the side of a stream.

The Lazuli Finch was met with in large numbers, and many of their nests procured, by Mr. Xantus, in the neighborhood of Ft. Tejon, California. Indeed, it is a very abundant species generally on the Pacific coast, and is found at least as far north as Puget Sound, during the summer. It arrives at San Diego, according to Dr. Cooper, about April 22, and remains there until October. A male bird, kept in a cage over winter, was found to retain its blue plumage. It is a favorite cage-bird in California, where it is absurdly known as the Indigo Bird. During the summer months, according to Dr. Cooper, there is hardly a grove in the more open portions of the State uninhabited by one or more pairs of this beautiful species. Although the female is very shy and difficult to obtain, except on the nest, the male is not timid, and frequently sings his lively notes from the top of some bush or tree, continuing musical in all weathers and throughout the summer. He describes its song as unvaried, as rather monotonous, and closely resembling that of C. cyanea.

Their nest, he adds, is usually built in a bush, not more than three or four feet from the ground, formed of fibrous roots, strips of bark, and grass, with a lining of vegetable down or hair, and securely bound to the surrounding branches. The eggs, five in number, he describes as white, faintly tinged with blue. At Santa Barbara he found them freshly laid May 6.

These birds are never gregarious, though the males come in considerable flocks in the spring, several days before the females. They travel at night, arriving at Santa Cruz about April 12. A nest found by Dr. Cooper, May 7, in a low bush close to a public road, was about three feet from the ground. It was very strongly built, supported by a triple fork of the branch, and was composed of blades of grass firmly interwoven, and lined with horsehair and cobwebs. It measured three inches in height and three and three fourths in width. The cavity was two inches deep and one and three fourths wide.

In Arizona Dr. Coues found this bird a summer resident, but not abundant.

At Puget Sound this bird arrives about May 15. Dr. Suckley states that in Oregon it was observed returning from the south, in large flocks, in one instance of several hundred individuals.

The eggs of the Lazuli, when fresh, are of a light blue, which on the least exposure soon fades into a bluish-white. They are almost exactly oval in shape, and measure .75 by .60 of an inch. One end is somewhat more rounded, but the difference is slight.

Cyanospiza versicolor, Baird

VARIED BUNTING

Spiza versicolor, Bon. Pr. Zoöl. Soc. 1837, 120.—Ib. Conspectus Av. 1850, 475.—Cab. Mus. Hein. 1851, 148. Carduelis luxuosus, Lesson, Rev. Zoöl. 1839, 41. Cyanospiza versicolor, Baird, Birds N. Am. 1858, 503, pl. lvi, f. 2.—Cooper, Orn. Cal. 1, 234.

Sp. Char. Posterior half of hood, with throat, dark brownish-red; interscapular region similar, but darker. Forepart of hood, lesser wing-coverts, back of the neck, and rump, purplish-blue; the latter purest blue; the belly reddish-purple, in places tinged with blue, more obscure posteriorly. Feathers of wing and tail dark-brown, edged with dull bluish. Loral region and narrow frontal band black. Feathers on side of rump white at base. Length, 5.50; wing, 2.75; tail, 2.38.

Female. Yellowish-brown; paler beneath, and lightest behind. No white on wing. Tail with a bluish gloss.

Hab. Northern Mexico, and Cape St. Lucas. Xalapa (Scl. 1859, 365); Oaxaca (Scl. 1859, 379); Orizaba (Scl. 1857, 214); (Sum. M. B. S. I, 551; breeding); Guatemala (Scl. Ibis, I, 17).

The bill is stouter and more swollen to the end, and the mandible is much more curved than that of C. cyanea; and its perfectly concave commissure, without any shallow lobe in the middle, and the much more arched ridge, would almost separate the two generically. The wing is shorter and more rounded, the fourth quill longest, then the third, second, and fifth. The first is only a little longer than the seventh. The tail is decidedly rounded; rather more so than in C. cyanea.

The female is very similar to those of C. amœna and cyanea. The former has whitish bands on the wing; the latter differs in shape of bill, and has the first quill but little less than the second, or longest; not shorter than the sixth. In 34,033 ♂, Cape St. Lucas (June 26), the colors are much brighter than in any other of the collection. The whole occiput is bright scarlet, and the forehead nearly pure light blue, neither having scarcely a tinge of purple.

Autumnal and winter males have the bright tints very slightly obscured by grayish-brown tips to the feathers, especially on the back. The female in autumn is much more brown above and more rusty beneath than in spring.

Habits. This beautiful species has only doubtful claims to a place in our fauna. It is a Mexican species, and may occasionally cross into our territory. It was met with at Boquillo, in the Mexican State of New Leon, by Lieutenant Couch. It was procured in Guatemala by Dr. Van Patten and by Salvin, and is given by Bonaparte as from Peru. It is also found at Cape St. Lucas, where it is not rare, and where it breeds.

This bird is also found at Orizaba, according to Sumichrast, but is quite rare in the State of Vera Cruz. Its common name is Prusiano. Its geographical distribution he was not able satisfactorily to ascertain.

Among the memoranda of Mr. Xantus made at Cape St. Lucas, we find the following in connection with this species: 517, nest and three eggs of Cyanospiza versicolor; obtained May 5 on a myrtle hanging down from very high perpendicular bluffs, off the Trajoles, at Cape St. Lucas. 1535, nest and eggs of the same found on a vine ten feet high.

Specimens of this species were taken by Mr. Boucard at Oaxaca, Mexico, during the winter months.

Cyanospiza ciris, Baird

NONPAREIL; PAINTED BUNTING

Emberiza ciris, Linn. Kong. Sv. Vet. Akad. Hand. 1750, 278; tab. vii, f. 1.—Ib. Syst. Nat. I, 1766, 313.—Wilson, Am. Orn. III, 1811, 68, pl. xxiv, f. 1, 2. Passerina ciris, Vieillot, Gal. Ois. I, 1824, 81, pl. lxvi. Fringilla ciris, Aud. Orn. Biog. I, 1832, 279; V, 517, pl. liii. Spiza ciris, Bon. List, 1838.—Ib. Conspectus, 1850, 476.—Aud. Syn. 1839, 108.—Ib. Birds Am. III, 1841, 93, pl. clxix. Cyanospiza ciris, Baird, Birds N. Am. 1858, 503.—Ib. Mex. Bound. II, Birds, 17, pl. xviii, f. 2.—Heerm. X, c, p. 14. ? Fringilla mariposa, Scopoli, Annals Hist. Nat. I, 1769, 151. Painted Finch, Catesby, Pennant.

Sp. Char. Male. Head and neck all round 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, loral region, 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.

Hab. South Atlantic and Gulf States to the Pecos River, Texas; south into Middle America to Panama; S. Illinois (Ridgway); Honduras (Scl. 1858, 358); Oaxaca (Scl. 1859, 379); Cordova (Scl. 1856, 304); Guatemala (Scl. Ibis, I, 17); Honduras (Scl. II, 10); Cuba (Cab. J. IV, 8); Veragua (Salv. 1867, 142); Costa Rica (Lawr. IX, 102); Vera Cruz, winter (Sum. M. B. S. I, 552); Yucatan (Lawr. IX, 200).

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 C. cyanea by the green instead of dull brown of the back, and the yellow of the under parts.

Specimens of this species from all parts of its range appear to be quite identical.

Habits. The Nonpareil or Painted Bunting of the Southern and Southeastern States has a somewhat restricted distribution, not being found any farther to the north on the Atlantic Coast than South Carolina and Georgia, and probably only in the more southern portions of those States. It has been traced as far to the west as Texas. It was also met with at Monterey, Mexico, by Lieutenant Couch, and in winter by Mr. Boucard, at Plaza Vicente, Oaxaca.

Mr. Dresser found it very common both at Matamoras and at San Antonio, breeding in both places. Dr. Coues did not meet with it in Columbia, S. C., and considers it as confined to the low country, and as rare even there. It breeds about the city of Charleston, S. C., from which neighborhood I have received its eggs in considerable numbers, from Dr. Bachman. It is also found in the lower counties of Georgia, and breeds in the vicinity of Savannah. It was not met with by Dr. Gerhardt in the northern portion of that State. Dr. Woodhouse found it quite abundant in all parts of Texas, where he tells us the sweet warblings of this beautiful and active little Finch added much to the pleasures of his trip across the prairies. Its favorite places of resort appeared to be small thickets, and when singing it selected the highest branches of a bush.

In the Report on the birds of the Mexican Boundary Survey, Lieutenant Couch met with this species among the low hedges in the suburbs of Pesqueria Grande. Mr. J. H. Clark observed that the individuals of this species diminished as they proceeded westward. The male was almost always seen alone, flying a long distance for so small a bird. Their nests, he adds, were built of very fine grass, in low bushes, and resting in the crotch of the twigs. Males were never seen about the nest, but the females were so gentle as to allow themselves to be taken off the nest, which was deliberately done on more than one occasion.

Dr. Kennerly reports having often listened to the melodious warblings of this beautiful Finch in the vicinity of San Antonio, Texas, where he found it very abundant among the thick mesquite-bushes, in the month of July. It was deservedly a great favorite there, both on account of the beauty of its plumage and its notes.

Wilson found this bird one of the most numerous summer birds of Lower Louisiana, where it was universally known among the French inhabitants as Le Pape. Its gay dress and its docility of manners procured it many admirers. Wilson also states that he met with these birds in the low countries of all the Southern States, in the vicinity of the sea and along the borders of the large rivers, particularly among the rice plantations. He states that a few were seen near the coast in North Carolina, but they were more numerous in South Carolina, and still more so in Georgia, especially the lower parts. At Natchez, on the Mississippi, they were comparatively scarce, but below Baton Rouge, on the levee, they appeared in great numbers. Around New Orleans they were warbling from almost every fence. Their notes very much resemble those of the Indigo Bird, but lack their energy, and are more feeble and concise.

Wilson met with these birds very generally in the houses of the French inhabitants of New Orleans. In the aviary of a wealthy French planter near Bayou Fourche, he found two pairs of these birds so far reconciled to their confinement as to have nests and hatch out their eggs. Wilson was of the opinion that with the pains given to the Canary these birds would breed with equal facility. Six of them, caught only a few days before his departure, were taken with him by sea. They soon became reconciled to their cage, and sang with great sprightliness. They were very fond of flies, and watched with great eagerness as the passengers caught them for their benefit, assembling in the front of the cage and stretching their heads through the wires to receive them.

These birds, he states, arrive in Louisiana from the South about the middle of April, and build early in May. They reach Savannah about the 20th of April. Their nests are usually fixed in orange hedges or in the lower branches of the trees. He often found them in common bramble and blackberry bushes. They are formed exteriorly of dry grass intermingled with the silk of caterpillars, with hair and fine rootlets. Some nests had eggs as late as the 25th of June, which were probably a second brood. The food of this bird consists of rice, insects, and various kinds of seeds. They also feed on the seeds of ripe figs.

A single specimen of this species was detected by Mr. Ridgway in Southern Illinois between Olney and Mount Carmel, on the 10th of June. It is therefore presumed to be a rare summer resident in that locality.

The Nonpareil is possessed of a very pugnacious disposition, and, according to Mr. Audubon, the bird-dealers of New Orleans take advantage of this peculiarity in a very ingenious manner to trap them. A male bird is stuffed and set up in an attitude of defence on the platform of a trap-cage. The first male bird of this species that notices it is sure to make an attack upon it, and is at once trapped. So pertinacious are they that even when thus imprisoned the captive repeats its attack upon its supposed rival. They feed almost immediately upon being caught, and usually thrive in confinement, Audubon mentioning one that had been caged for ten years.

This bird is very easily made to breed in confinement. Dr. Bachman has had a single pair thus raise three broods in a season.

The eggs of this species measure .80 by .65 of an inch, and do not at all resemble the eggs of the cyanea or amœna. They have a dull or pearly-white ground, and are very characteristically marked with blotches and dots of purplish and reddish brown.

Genus SPERMOPHILA, Swainson

Spermophila, Swainson, Zoöl. Jour. III, Nov. 1827, 348. (Type, Pyrrhula falcirostris, Temm. Sufficiently distinct from Spermophilus, F. Cuv. 1822.)

Sporophila, Cabanis, Mus. Hein. 1851, 148. (Type, Fringilla hypoleuca, Licht.)

Spermophila moreleti.

30524 ♂

Gen. Char. Bill very short and very much curved, as in Pyrrhula, almost as deep as long; the commissure concave, abruptly bent towards the end. Tarsus about equal to middle toe; inner toe rather the longer (?), reaching about to the base of the middle one; hind toe to the middle of this claw. Wings short, reaching over the posterior third of the exposed part of the tail; the tertiaries gradually longer than the secondaries, neither much shorter than the primaries, which are graduated, and but little different in length, the first shorter than the sixth, the second and fourth equal. The tail is about as long as the wings, rounded, all the feathers slightly graduated, rather sharply acuminate and decidedly mucronate. Smallest of American passerine birds.

The essential characters of this genus are the small, very convex bill, as high as long; the short broad wings, with the quills differing little in length, the outer ones graduated; the tail as long as the wings, widened towards the end, and slightly graduated, with the acuminate and mucronate tip to the feathers.

Many species of the genus occur in Middle and South America, although none not readily distinguishable from the single North American one.

Spermophila moreleti, Pucheran

LITTLE SEED-EATER

Spermophila moreleti, (Pucheran,) Bonap. Conspectus, 1850, 497.—Sclater, Pr. Zoöl. Soc. 1856, 302.—Baird, Birds N. Am. 1858, 506, pl. liv, f. 2, 3.—Ib. Mex. Bound. II, Birds, 17, pl. xvi, f. 2, 3. Sporophila moreleti, Cab. Mus. Hein. 1851, 150.—Ib. Journ. für. Orn. IX, 1861, 4 (with synonomy). Spermophila albigularis, (Spix,) Lawrence, Ann. N. Y. Lyceum, V, Sept. 1851, 124 (Texas. Not of Spix).

Sp. Char. The top and sides of the head, back of the neck, a broad band across the upper part of the breast extending all round, the middle of the back, the wings and tail, with the posterior upper coverts, black. The chin, upper throat and neck all round, but interrupted behind, the rump, with the remaining under and lateral portions of the body, white; the latter tinged with brownish-yellow. Two bands on the wing, across the greater and middle coverts, with the concealed bases of all the quills, also white. Length, about 4 inches; wing, 2.05; tail, 1.90.

Female. Dull yellow; olivaceous above, brownish-yellow beneath. Wings and tail somewhat as in the male.

Hab. Rio Grande of Texas; south to Costa Rica. Xalapa (Scl. 1859, 365); Oaxaca (Scl. 1859, 378); Cordova (Scl. 1856, 302); Guatemala (Scl. Ibis, I, 17; Salv. Ibis, I, 468; nest); Costa Rica (Cab. J. 1861, 4); Vera Cruz, winter, alpine region, breeding (Sum. M. B. S. I, 551).

Spermophila moreleti.

The specimen upon which the preceding description of the male has been based is the only one in full plumage we have seen, and was kindly lent by Mr. P. L. Sclater. It was collected in Honduras. Some of the feathers of the back have grayish tips. The specimen described by Mr. Lawrence as S. albigularis, though male, is, in most respects, like the female, except that the wings and tail are darker, the color of the upper part grayer, and the interscapular feathers blotched with black. The black of the head is strongly indicated, the feathers, however, all with gray margins. In this and another, a little further advanced, from San Diego, Mexico, (4096,) there is a very faint indication of the black pectoral band, and there is no trace of the whitish of the rump.

Habits. This pretty little tropical form of Sparrow can only rest a claim to be included in our fauna by its occasional presence on the Rio Grande in Texas. It is found throughout Mexico and Central America.

Mr. Sumichrast found it throughout the State of Vera Cruz, except only in the elevated or alpine regions. Its common name was Frailecito. It was abundant throughout the hot and the temperate regions as well as the plateau.

This species was first met with near the Lake of Peten, in Guatemala, by M. Morelet, and was described from his specimens in the Paris Museum by Prince Bonaparte. Mr. Salvin found it a not uncommon species about Dueñas, where it is generally to be found amongst the tall weeds on the edge of the lake. It was also found at Belize. From a letter of Mr. Salvin, published in the Ibis of 1859 (p. 468), we quote the following in reference to the nest of this species, which is all the information we have in relation to this diminutive Sparrow: “A day or two ago I found two nests of Spermophila moreleti, and took one rotten dried-up egg from one with a young one in it. Nothing could be more different than this nest and that of S. bicolor, so well described by Mr. Newton. That of S. moreleti, instead of the loose domed structure of S. bicolor, with a large side-entrance, composed entirely of one material, is one of the neatest nests you ever saw,—a beautiful, open, transparent nest, composed of fine roots and fibres, and lined with horsehair. It is not placed resting on a branch, but is suspended like a Reed Warbler’s (Salicaria arundinacea), by several small twigs. The eggs, too, differ materially.” Mr. Salvin gives no description of these eggs.

This bird was found a resident during the winter months, and in May also, at Plaza Vicente, in the State of Oaxaca, Mexico. This is in the low or hot lands of that region.

Genus PHONIPARA, Bonap

Phonipara, Bonaparte, 1850. (Type, Loxia canora, Gm.)

Phonipara zena.

 

Gen. Char. Size very small. Wing considerably longer than the tail, but much rounded; third or fourth quill longest; first about equal to seventh. Tail very slightly rounded, the feathers broad. Bill very short and deep, but the depth through the base less than the culmen; culmen but slightly, or not appreciably, curved; bill much compressed. Feet stout; tarsi longer than the middle toe; outer toe longer than the inner, its claw just reaching the base of the middle claw; hind toe with the claw very large, and strongly curved. Among the least of American Fringillidæ.

The introduction of this genus into the North American fauna is the result of Mr. Maynard’s indefatigable labors in the exploration of Florida. The species are principally West Indian, a single race alone belonging to the continental portion of Middle America.

Species and Varieties

Common Characters. Sexes very different. Above olive-green, beneath blackish or whitish. ♂. Head and breast black, the former with or without yellow patches. ♀ with the yellow and black indicated only, or wanting. Length, about 4.00.

A. Head without any yellow.

1. P. zena. Culmen decidedly curved. Above dull grayish olive-green. ♂. Head and lower parts, especially anteriorly, dull black, mixed with whitish posteriorly. ♀. Head and beneath ashy. Wing, about 2.00; tail, 1.75. Hab. West Indies (Cuba, Hayti, Porto Rico, St. Bartholomew, Jamaica, etc.); also Key West, Florida (Maynard).

B. Head with yellow patches.

2. P. pusilla. Culmen perfectly straight. Above rather bright olive-green. ♂, a supraloral stripe, a patch on chin, and upper part of throat, with edge of wing, bright yellow; forehead, lores, and jugulum black. ♀ with the black and yellow only indicated, or wanting.

Whole crown, cheeks, breast, and upper part of abdomen black. Hab. Middle America, from Mirador to Panama, and southward … var. pusilla.¹²

Only isolated spots, covering forehead, lore, and base of lower jaw, and patch on jugulum, black. Hab. West Indies. (Porto Rico, Hayti, Jamaica, Cuba, etc.) … var. olivacea.¹³

3. P. canora.¹⁴ Culmen decidedly curved. Above bright olive-green; beneath pale ashy, whitish on anal region. A bright yellow broad crescent across the lower part of the throat, curving upward and forward, behind and over the auriculars, to above the eye. ♂. Lores, auriculars, and chin, and a band across the jugulum, black. ♀. Chin, etc., chestnut-brown; no black on jugulum. Hab. Cuba.

Phonipara zena, Bryant

THE BLACK-FACED FINCH

Fringilla zena, Linn. Syst. Nat. I, (ed. 10,) 1758, 183 (based on Passer bicolor bahamensis, Catesby, Carol. I, tab. 37, Bahamas).—Bryant, Pr. Bost. Soc. N. H. X, 1865, 254. Fringilla bicolor, Linn. Syst. Nat. I, (ed. 12,) 1766, 324 (same original as zena). Spermophila bicolor, Gosse (Jamaica). Phonipara bicolor, Newton (St. Croix). ? Tiaris omissa, Jardine, Ann. Nat. Hist. 1847, 332 (Tobago). Phonipara omissa, Sclater. Phonipara marchi, Baird, Pr. A. N. Sc. Phila. Nov. 1863, 297 (Jamaica). Fringilla zena, var. marchi, Bryant, Pr. Bost. Soc. 1867, 43. Fringilla (Phonipara) zena, var. portoricensis, Bryant, Pr. Bost. Soc. X, 1865, 254 (Porto Rico).

Sp. Char. Male adult (627, Bryant coll.; Inagua). Above dull olive-green, the head and lower parts black, the two colors blending insensibly into each other; feathers of the middle of the abdomen and crissum edged with whitish. Wing, 2.10; tail, 1.80, culmen, .35; tarsus, .63; middle toe, .50.

Female adult (983, Bryant coll.; Inagua). Above dull olive-green, beneath ashy, whitish on the abdomen and crissum; no black. Wing, 2.10.

Male juv. (981, Bryant coll.; Inagua). Like the adult female, but the head anteriorly, the chin, throat, and jugulum medially, black. Wing, 2.05.

Hab. West Indies (Bahamas; Jamaica, Porto Rico; St. Croix, Tobago?).

Quite a large series of this species from the various West Indian Islands show a considerable variation in the amount of black in male birds; nothing characteristic of the different islands, however, for, in specimens from each, individuals are to be found agreeing in every respect with the stages described above.

Habits. The Black-faced Finch of Jamaica and other West India Islands claims a place in the fauna of the United States as an occasional visitant of Florida; of how common occurrence on that peninsula we cannot determine. It was taken there in the spring of 1871 by Mr. Maynard, and is possibly an accidental rather than a regular visitant. It is found in many of the West India Islands, though being resident in their several places of abode, they naturally exhibit certain characteristics as of distinct races. The eggs of the St. Croix bird differ considerably from those of the Jamaica one.

The Messrs. Newton, in their account of the birds of St. Croix, mention this bird as having a Bunting-like song, heard always very early in the morning. It is said to frequent the curing-houses, hopping on the uncovered sugar-hogsheads, and making a plentiful meal therefrom. It is very sociable, and feeds in small flocks, mostly on the ground among the guinea-grass. The crops of those dissected were usually found to contain small seeds. They build domed nests in low bushes, thickets of bamboo, or among creepers against the side of a house, seldom more than four feet from the ground, composed entirely of dry grass, the interior being lined with finer materials of the same. The opening is on one side, and is large for the size of the nest. They breed from the middle of May to the end of July. The eggs are white, spotted with red, especially at the larger end. The usual number of eggs is three, very rarely four. Their measurement is .65 by .50 of an inch.

In Jamaica Mr. March speaks of it as the most common of the Grass Finches, of which there are three other species, and as nesting at all seasons of the year in low trees and bushes. Near homesteads, in building their domed nests, they make use of shreds, scraps of cloth, bits of cotton, and other trash. Their eggs, he says, are three and sometimes even six in number; and he mentions their varying both as to dimensions and coloring, which may explain the difference between the eggs from St. Croix and Jamaica. Those from the latter place measure .72 by .50 of an inch, and the markings are more of a brown than a red color.

Mr. Hill adds that the Grass Finch very frequently selects a shrub on which the wasps have built, fixing the entrance close to their cells.

Mr. Gosse states that the only note of this species is a single harsh guttural squeak, difficult either to imitate or to describe.

Genus PYRRHULOXIA, Bonap

Pyrrhuloxia, Bonaparte, Conspectus, 1850, 500. (Type, Cardinalis sinuatus, Bon.)

Gen. Char. The bill is very short and much curved, the culmen forming an arc of a circle of 60 degrees or more, and ending at a right angle with the straight gonys; the commissure abruptly much angulated anterior to the nostrils in its middle point; the lower jaw very much wider than the upper, and wider than the gonys is long; anterior portion of commissure straight. Tarsus longer than middle toe; outer lateral toes longer, not reaching the base of the middle; wing considerably rounded, first quill longer than secondaries. Tail much longer than the wing, graduated; the feathers broad, truncate. Head crested.

Pyrrhuloxia sinuata.

6370

Color. Gray, with red feathers and patches.

The essential character of this genus lies in the greatly curved, very short, and broad bill, something like that of Pyrrhula. In other respects like Cardinalis, but with less graduated wing, and longer and broader tail.

Pyrrhuloxia sinuata, Bonap

TEXAS CARDINAL

Cardinalis sinuatus, Bp. Pr. Zoöl. Soc. Lond. V, 1837, 111 (Mexico).—Lawrence, Ann. N. Y. Lyc. V, 1851, 116.—Cassin, Illust. I, VII, 1854, 204, pl. xxxiii. Pyrrhuloxia sinuata, Bon. Consp. 1850, 500.—Baird, Birds N. Am. 1858, 508.—Heerm. X, c. 16.—Cooper, Orn. Cal. I, 236.

Sp. Char. Head with an elongated, pointed crest, springing from the crown. Upper parts generally pale ashy-brown; hood, sides of neck, and under parts of body, rather paler. Long crest-feathers, bill all round including lores and encircling the eye, wing and tail, dark crimson. Chin and upper part of throat, breast, and median line of the belly, under tail-coverts, tibia, edge and inner coverts of the wings, bright carmine-red. Bill yellowish. Length, about 8.50; wing, 3.75; tail, 4.50.

Female similar, with the under part brownish-yellow; middle of belly and throat only tinged with red.

Hab. Valley of the Rio Grande of Texas and westward; Cape St. Lucas; Mazatlan, Mexico.