In this species there is a slight superficial resemblance to Poocætes gramineus; but upon comparison it will be found to be entirely different: thus, P. gramineus lacks the median light stripe on the crown, has the lesser wing-coverts rufous and the lateral tail-feathers white, while the streaks are all blackish and the ground-color different; the generic details, too, are quite different.

Habits. This species has been obtained only in Eastern Massachusetts, where, in the neighborhood of Ipswich, it was found among the sand-hills by the sea-shore. The place where the individuals taken were met with is a rather remarkable tract, three miles in length and nearly one in breadth. It is as treeless as the Great Plains, and as bleak and barren, with no vegetation except a scant growth of coarse grass. Mr. Maynard obtained his first specimen early in December, 1868. Although others were seen, yet this was all he was then able to obtain. He has since taken others in the same place and season. Nothing is known as to its habits. It uttered, as it rose, a short chirp of alarm.

Passerculus rostratus, Baird.

SAN DIEGO SPARROW.

Emberiza rostrata, Cassin, Pr. A. N. Sc. VI, 1852, 348. Ammodramus rostratus, Cassin, Ill. I, 1855, 226, pl. xxxviii. Passerculus rostratus, Baird, Birds N. Am. 1858, 446.—Cooper, Orn. Cal. 1, 1870, 184.

Sp. Char. Bill very long (.55 of an inch above). Whole upper parts and sides of head and neck pale brownish-gray (almost fulvous), nearly every feather with a darker central blotch, darkest along the shaft. A scarcely appreciable central stripe in the crown, an obscure yellowish-white superciliary, and a whitish maxillary one. Under parts pure white; streaked on the breast and the sides of throat and body with dark brown (the streak paler externally). Under tail-coverts unspotted white. Tail and wing feathers and wings margined with the color of the back; the edges of tertiaries rather paler. Length, 5.30; wing, 2.90; tail, 2.30.

Hab. Coast of California, south to Cape St. Lucas; mouth of Colorado River (Dr. Palmer).

The bill of this species is very long and conical, the cutting edge nearly straight. The wings are rather long, the tertiaries nearly as long in the closed wing as the primaries; the second, third, and fourth quills longest, the first rather longer than the fifth. The tail is short and emarginate, the feathers narrow, acute, and moderately stiff. The tarsi are long; the claws little curved.

In some specimens the streaks on the back are almost obsolete.

Habits. So far as is known, this bird seems to have a somewhat restricted habitat, being apparently confined to the sea-coast of Southern California. There it was first met with by Dr. Heermann, in the neighborhood of San Diego, and was described by Mr. Cassin as an Ammodromus, with which genus of birds it seemed to have many peculiarities in common. Dr. Heermann first met with this bird in 1851, on the shores of the bay of San Diego, in company with other species, apparently in search of grass-seed. Afterwards, in the Pacific Railroad Survey, with Lieutenant Williamson, he again met with these birds in considerable numbers at Santa Barbara and San Pedro. In all the places in which he met with it he found it frequenting low sandy beaches, and the heavy sedge-grass which abounds on the shores. On the former it seemed to be feeding on marine insects and seeds thrown up by the tide, and in the latter to find places for easy and immediate concealment when alarmed or pursued. Naturally it appeared to be a quiet and unsuspicious bird. He heard it utter no other note than a short sharp chirp.

Dr. Cooper thinks this species has a much greater affinity to the Ammodrami than to the Passerculi, both in its bill and claws, as well as in its habits. He found them very abundant, both at San Pedro and San Diego, at all seasons, and he does not think that they migrate at all from those localities. He found them frequenting the shores of the bays and the sea-beaches. They also came confidently and familiarly about the buildings near the water, feeding on any seeds or insects they could find. On the beach they run along the sand, in the rows of drifted sea-weeds, seeking their food, and rarely take to flight unless surprised, and then only fly a short distance. Dr. Cooper has never known them to alight on any bush, nor does he think that they have any song. The only note he has ever heard them utter is a short chirp. At San Pedro he saw them, in July, feeding their young, but he has never found a nest that he was certain belonged to this species.

Dr. Coues found this bird abundant in Southern California, where it kept among the thick weeds of the dry plain, and was much on the ground, where it ran as easily as a Pipilo, often flying up into the bushes and resting there quietly. They were to be seen also in great numbers sunning themselves and catching flies on the piles of lumber on the wharf, so tame as to be almost liable to be struck by a cane.

It is a winter resident at Cape St. Lucas, where Mr. Xantus found them abundant. They were not seen there in summer, though it is probable they reside on the shores in its neighborhood. Their nest and eggs remain unknown.

ST. LUCAS SPARROW.

Passerculus guttatus, Lawrence, Ann. N. Y. Lyc. VIII, 1867, 473.—Cooper, Orn. Cal. 1, 185.

Sp. Char. Above plumbeous-gray; the feathers of the back with dusky centres and paler edges; the top of head also streaked with dusky and with an almost inappreciable median stripe of lighter. Upper tail-coverts slightly darker in the centre. No rufous edgings to the feathers. Head with a pale yellowish-white band from bill over the eye; and a mandibular one, nearly white, bordered above and below by the dusky line of other Passerculus. Under parts white, thickly streaked on jugulum, breast, and flanks with dusky, faintly on under tail-coverts. Bill and legs rather dusky; iris brown. Length, 5.00; wing, 2.50; tail, 1.95; tarsus, .80; middle toe and claw, .75; bill above, .51; gape, .56; greatest height, .25.

Hab. Cape St. Lucas (Dec., 1859).

This bird, of which a single specimen only is so far known, is very closely related to P. rostratus, though very easily distinguished from it. It is considerably smaller than rostratus, the bill more slender, the upper parts much darker, being plumbeous, not sandy-colored; the stripes beneath darker; the bill and legs more dusky. These differences may not indicate a distinct species, but as the specimen here described differs entirely from all the specimens of a large number of P. rostratus, it is yet entitled to consideration as a marked variety,—probably the resident race at Cape St. Lucas, where the var. rostratus is merely a winter visitor.

Habits. The St. Lucas Finch is a new species, in regard to the habits of which nothing whatever is as yet known. It was obtained at San José, in Lower California, by Mr. John Xantus, in December, 1859. It was found in company with a flock of Passerculus rostratus, and the presumption is that its habits may resemble those of that little-known species.

Genus POOCÆTES, Baird.

Poocætes, Baird, Birds N. Am. 1858, 447. (Type, Fringilla graminea, Gm.)

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 unusually long, reaching to the middle of the tail as far as the coverts, and pointed; the primaries considerably 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 feathers scarcely shorter; the feathers rather stiff; each one acuminate 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.

Poocætes gramineus, Baird.

GRASS SPARROW; BAY-WINGED BUNTING.

Var. gramineus.

Fringilla graminea, Gm. Syst. Nat. I, 1788, 922.—Aud. Orn. Biog. I, 1831, 473; V, 502, pl. xc. Emberiza graminea, Wilson, Am. Orn. IV, 1811, 51, pl. xxxi, f. 5.—Aud. Syn. 1839, 102.—Ib. Birds Am. III, 1841, 65, pl. clix.—Max. Cab. Jour. vi, 1858, 342. Fringilla (Zonotrichia) graminea, Swainson, F. B. Am. II, 1831, 254. Zonotrichia graminea, Bon. List, 1838.—Ib. Conspectus, 1850, 478. Poocætes gramineus, Baird, Birds N. Am. 1858, 447.—Samuels, 303.

Sp. Char. Tail-feathers 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 6.20; wing, 3.10; tail, 2.50; bill, .33 from frontal feathers to point, by .33 in depth at base; tarsus, .72. Bill yellow, dusky above; legs yellow. (Measurement of No. 10,147 ♀, Washington, D. C.)

Hab. Eastern Province of United States.

Var. confinis.

Poocætes gramineus, var. confinis, Baird, Birds N. Am. 1858, p. 448 (in text under P. gramineus). Poocætes gramineus, Cooper & Suckley, 200.—Cooper, Orn. Cal. 1, 186.

Sp. Char. Resembling P. gramineus, but colors paler, the dark streaks narrower. Bill more slender, tarsi longer. (Measurement of 40,803 ♂, Fort Whipple, Arizona: Bill, .36 from point of frontal feathers by .25 in depth through base; tarsus, .78; wing, 3.35; tail, 2.80).

Hab. Western and Middle Provinces of United States, south into Mexico; Oaxaca (Scl. 1859, 379; March).

All specimens from west of the Rocky Mountains are to be referred to var. confinis.

Habits. The Bay-winged or Grass Finch is a very abundant species wherever found, and has a very extended distribution. Accepting as one species the slightly variant races above indicated, this bird extends from Florida and Mexico, on the south, to the 57th parallel of latitude, and from the eastern to the western shores. It was found by Richardson frequenting the plains of the Saskatchewan, where it arrives early in May and leaves in September, and where it nests abundantly in the short withered grass of that sterile region. Richardson did not trace it farther north than the 57th parallel, and it was not obtained on the Yukon or Anderson Rivers by Mr. MacFarlane or Mr. Lockhart. It breeds from Northern Virginia north.

In the Middle States it is partially resident, a portion remaining all the winter. South of Washington it is chiefly migratory, only found, in any numbers, from November to March, and probably but few remaining to breed. Audubon states that he never saw any of this species in any portion of Louisiana, Missouri, Kentucky, or Ohio. Mr. Dresser, on the other hand, found them common about San Antonio in August and September, and also in May and June, and had no doubt that some remain to breed.

It is very abundant throughout New England, arriving in some seasons as early as March 11, and remaining until quite late in the fall, often through November. It is found chiefly in dry open fields and pastures, where it nests, with no pains at concealment, on the ground, in depressions made by its own work. It is an unsuspicious and fearless species, neither seeking nor avoiding the companionship of man. It does not usually build near houses, yet is not unfrequently known to do so. It may be often found perched on fences along the roadside, chanting its simple and pleasing lay, and quite as frequently in the road feeding and dusting itself. The latter operation it is very fond of practising, and almost any day in the summer these birds may be found in such situations.

Dr. Suckley found this bird abundant on the Nisqually Plains, about Puget Sound; and Dr. Cooper says it is common, in summer, on the prairies of the interior of Washington Territory. Dr. Cooper also found it wintering in the Colorado Valley, in considerable numbers, but all disappeared in April. He thinks they breed in Northern California, though he has never found them doing so. Dr. Newberry states that they are common in the Sacramento Valley, both in the summer and in the fall. It was found by Mr. Boucard, in winter, near Oaxaca, Mexico.

Their song is a very simple and pleasant succession of soft notes, resembling that of the Canary, but thinner and feebler. It is begun early in the morning and continued a few hours, and then renewed at sunset and kept up often until after dark. It is also not unlike the song of the Song Sparrow, but is neither so varied nor so loud and strong. It continues to sing until late in the season.

They feed in the road, eating insects, seeds, and grain. They are fond of searching also in ploughed fields, and keep principally upon the ground, exclusively so when they are searching for their food.

Although as unsuspicious as the Song Sparrow or the Chipping Sparrow, this Finch rarely, like them, comes about the house for crumbs of bread, but seems to prefer to forage for itself in the fields and by the roadside. Taken from the nest, these birds may be readily tamed, and soon become very interesting and familiar little pets, though Nuttall states that where several are thus kept they become very jealous of each other, and quarrelsome.

The eggs of this species are usually five, often four, and rarely six in number. They are of an oblong-oval shape, the smaller end but slightly more pointed than the other. They vary greatly in size, ranging from .90 to .80 of an inch in length, and averaging about .65 in breadth. Their ground-color is a pale greenish-white, marked with spots, lines, dots, and blotches of various shades of reddish and purplish brown. In some eggs the spots are few and small, chiefly confluent in a ring about the larger end, while the ground-color is very plainly distinguishable. In others the ground is nearly concealed by the abundance of the spots.

Genus COTURNICULUS, Bonap.

Coturniculus, Bonap. Geog. List, 1838. (Type, Fringilla passerina, Wils.)

Gen. Char. Bill very large and stout, (except in 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 Ammodromus.

This genus agrees with Passerculus in 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 larger, and more swollen at the base.

The essential characters of this genus consist in the swollen convex 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 in the South American C. manimbe).

In some respects there is a resemblance to Ammodromus, in which, however, the bill is very much more slender; the wings still 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, instead of considerably shorter.

C. lecontei has the same general form, but a much smaller bill.

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. Tail-feathers attenuated, acute at ends, much graduated. On the crown a median light stripe.

a. A dusky streak on each side of the throat, and one above the light ochraceous maxillary stripe.

1. C. henslowi. Bill very robust, .35 along culmen by .30 deep at base. Wing, 2.25; tail, 2.20. Head ochraceous or greenish olive, lighter on the throat; a blackish stripe on each side of the crown. Breast streaked with black at all ages. Hab. Eastern Province of United States.

b. No dusky streak on side of throat nor above the maxillæ.

2. C. lecontei. Bill very narrow, only .16 broad by .20 deep at base. Median stripe of the crown ochraceous for anterior third, the remaining part ashy-white; superciliary stripe wholly ochraceous; edge of wing white; breast sparsely streaked in the adult. Wing, 2.15; tail, 2.20. Hab. Plains west of the Missouri, from Texas to Dakota.

3. C. passerinus. Bill robust, .23, or more, broad, by .24, or more, deep at base. Median stripe of the crown ochraceous throughout; superciliary stripe yellow anteriorly, ashy posteriorly; edge of wing bright yellow, breast unstreaked in the adult, streaked in the young, in which the head stripes are ashy, with no yellow on wing or over lore.

Colors dark, the black markings predominating above. Ad. Anterior lower parts deep buff at all seasons. Juv. Dusky streaks on breast very distinct. Bill, .33 and .30; wing, 2.60; tail, 1.90. Hab. Eastern Province of United States, and West Indies … var. passerinus.

Colors pale, the light markings predominating above. Ad. Buff of the breast scarcely observable in summer. Juv. Dusky streaks on breast scarcely appreciable. Bill, .33 and .24; wing, 2.60; tail, 1.90. Hab. Western Province of United States … var. perpallidus.

B. Tail-feathers broad, rounded at ends; only slightly rounded. Crown not divided by a median stripe.

4. C. manimbe. Head clear ashy, whitish on throat; crown uniformly streaked with black. Supra-loral streak and edge of wing bright yellow. No streaks on breast in adult.

Breast tinged with ashy; black streaks on upper parts much narrower than the intervening ones of the ashy ground-color; dorsal feathers rufescent-umber medially, edged with ashy, and with a shaft-streak of black. Wing, 2.35; tail. 2.00. Hab. Brazil … var. manimbe.

Breast tinged with ochraceous; black streaks on upper parts much broader than the ashy ones of the ground-color; dorsal feathers black, edged with ashy; wing, 2.25; tail, 1.90. Hab. Buenos Ayres and Uruguay … var. dorsalis.

HENSLOW’S BUNTING.

Emberiza henslowi, Aud. Orn. Biog. I, 1831, 360, pl. lxxvii.—Ib. Syn. 1839, 104.—Ib. Birds Am. III, 1841, 75, pl. clxiii.—Nuttall, Man. I, 1832, App. Coturniculus henslowi, Bon. List, 1838.—Ib. Conspectus, 1850, 481.—Baird, Birds N. Am. 1858, 451.—Maynard, Birds E. Mass. 1870, 117.—Samuels, 306. Fringilla henslowi, Nuttall, Man. I, (2d ed.,) 1840, 571.

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 post-ocular on each side of the head, and an obscure black crescent or spot behind the auriculars. 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.

Hab. Eastern United States as far north as Massachusetts; westward to the Loup Fork of Platte.

This species is related to C. passerinus, but readily distinguished by the well-marked stripes 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, instead of having the greater portion of the centre dusky with scalloped edges. I have not seen young birds, but they probably differ little from the adults.

In New Jersey they were found in ploughed fields, where they are presumed to have been overlooked and mistaken for the Yellow-winged Sparrow. Mr. Audubon supposed that they were not found farther eastward than that State.

Specimens in the Smithsonian collection have been procured in Georgia in December; in Maryland in July; at Fort Riley, Kansas, Southern Illinois, and in Nebraska, in June.

In Massachusetts they are regular summer visitants, though as yet they have been met with in only a few instances and in a somewhat restricted locality. They are now met with nearly every year, and several nests have been taken. Mr. Maynard obtained two specimens, May 10, in a wet meadow in Newton. Their song-note he describes as like the syllables see-wick, the first syllable prolonged, the latter given quickly. This bird was first obtained in Berlin, in that State, by Mr. E. S. Wheeler, who discovered its nest and eggs. It was mistaken for Bachman’s Finch, and was at first so placed on the record, though the error was immediately corrected. Since then, in that town, and in one or two others in its neighborhood, other nests have been met with. Mr. William Brewster obtained several specimens in Lexington, May 14, 1872. It is quite probable that it has been confounded with C. passerinus, and it is now supposed to be more common in the eastern part of the State than that bird.

One specimen of this Bunting was taken near Washington, during the summer season, from which circumstance Dr. Coues gives it as an exceedingly rare summer resident of the District of Columbia.

In 1871, Mr. Ridgway ascertained that, so far from being rare, Henslow’s Bunting is very abundant on the prairies of Southern Illinois, as well as the Yellow-winged species, but far exceeding the latter in numbers. Though entirely similar to that bird in habits and manners, it may be readily distinguished by its note, which is said to be an abrupt pil-lut, much more like the common summer-call of the Shore Lark than the lisped grasshopper-like chirp of the C. passerinus, and to be uttered as the bird perches on the summit of a tall weed, the tail being depressed, and the head thrown back at each utterance. A number of unidentified eggs were sent to me several years since, by Mr. Kennicott, from near Chicago. They resembled somewhat the eggs of C. passerinus, but were not the eggs of that species. I have now no doubt they belonged to this bird.

Coturniculus lecontei, Bonap.

LECONTE’S BUNTING.

Emberiza lecontei, Aud. Birds Am. VII, 1843, 338, pl. cccclxxxviii.—Max. Cab. Jour. VI, 1858, 340. Coturniculus lecontei, Bon. Conspectus, 1850, 481.—Baird, Birds N. Am. 1858, 452.

Sp. Char. Bill much more slender than in C. henslowi. First quill the longest, the rest diminishing rapidly. Tail emarginate and rounded, with the feathers acute. Upper parts light yellowish-red, streaked with brownish-black; the margins of the feathers and scapulars 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. Length, 4.40; wing, 2.13; bill along ridge, .37; edge, .50. Legs flesh-color; bill dark blue.

Hab. Mouth of Yellowstone, to Texas.

Since the regret expressed in the Birds of North America (1858) at the loss of the single specimen known of this species, another has been received by the Smithsonian Institution from Washington Co., Texas, collected by Dr. Lincecum. It is in very poor condition, having been skinned for an alcoholic preparation, and does not admit of a satisfactory description of the colors. In its unspotted breast, the rufous feathers of the hind neck, the absence of maxillary stripes, and apparently in the markings of the wings, it is most like C. passerinus. Although the inner tail-feathers have the narrow stripe of henslowi, the bill is much smaller, as stated by Audubon, than in the others, and is apparently bluish, not yellow. The vertical stripe is deep buff anteriorly, and pale ashy posteriorly, instead of buff throughout, and the superciliary stripe is continuously buff, instead 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. Upon the whole, there can be no doubt of its actual specific distinctness from both its allies.

Coturniculus passerinus, Bonap.

YELLOW-WINGED BUNTING.

Fringilla passerina, Wilson, Am. Orn. III, 1811, 76, pl. xxvi, f. 5.—Aud. Orn. Biog. II, 1834, 180; V, 497, pl. cxxx. Fringilla (Spiza) passerina, Bon. Obs. Wils. 1825, No. 111. Coturniculus passerina, Bon. List, 1838.—Ib. Conspectus, 1850, 481.—Baird, Birds N. Am. 1858, 450.—Samuels, 305. Emberiza passerina, Aud. Syn. 1839.—Ib. Birds Am. III, 1841, 73, pl. clxii. Fringilla savanarum, (Gm.) Nuttall, Man. I, 1832, 494.—Ib. (2d ed.) 1840, 570.—(Gmelin, Syst. Nat. I, 1788, 921?) ?? Fringilla caudacuta, Lath. Ind. Orn. I, 1790, 459.—Nutt. Man. I, 1832, 505. ? Passerina pratensis, Vieillot. Coturniculus tixicrus, Gosse.

Localities: Oaxaca, March (Scl. 1859, 379). Guatemala (Scl. Ibis, I, 18). Cuba (winter, common, Cab. Journ. IV, 7). Costa Rica (Cab. Journ. VIII, 1860, 411; Lawr. IX, 103). Vera Cruz (winter, Sum. Mem. Bost. Soc. I, 552).

Sp. Char. Feathers of the upper parts brownish-rufous or chestnut-brown, margined 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 central 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.

Hab. Eastern United States; south to Guatemala; Jamaica, resident; Porto Rico.

The young of this species have the jugulum and sides of the breast streaked with black, much more distinct than in the adult, 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 yellow, 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.

All the specimens in the collection from Mexico and Guatemala are in the autumnal or winter dress, so that it is probable that they are not resident there; they appear to be identical with North American specimens, and referrible to the variety passerinus as restricted.

Between summer and winter specimens great differences are observable; in the former season the edges of the feathers become worn, so that often the chestnut spots disappear entirely, while the other markings become poorly defined, leaving the black blotches predominant.

Habits. The common Yellow-winged Sparrow appears to be a bird of irregular and unequal distribution, found in certain localities in great abundance, and not seen in the intervening districts. According to some writers, it is partial to sandy places near the sea, and this is certainly true of the neighborhood of New York City, and also of a large portion of the New Jersey coast. It is likewise the case in certain portions of Eastern Massachusetts, as, according to Mr. Maynard, this species is very numerous in Nantucket, where it breeds abundantly. I have never met with this Sparrow in Massachusetts, except in a single instance, near Boston, nor in any collections of eggs have I seen any that I supposed could be those of this species; yet in the western part of the State, according to Mr. Allen, it is an abundant summer visitant, arriving there about the first week in May, and leaving early in September, breeding in dry fields and pastures, and raising two broods in a season. According to Mr. Boardman, it is an occasional visitant in the neighborhood of Calais, yet rare; arriving there the first of April, five weeks earlier than it shows itself in Springfield. Yet that this bird has ever been met with between Boston and Calais does not appear. It was not seen in Western Maine by Professor Verrill.

In the vicinity of Hartford, Conn., this bird appears also to be a not uncommon summer resident. In 1860, I received from Mr. T. S. Brandigee several nests found in that neighborhood. They were all constructed on the ground, in a field of thin grass, and their tops were all nearly covered over.

Dr. Heermann states that he found this bird a not uncommon species, in the summer season, near San Antonio; and Mr. Dresser also procured a specimen there in the early summer. Dr. Lincecum mentions it as a common resident in Washington County, in the same State. He describes it as a close-hiding Grass Sparrow, running on the ground in the manner of a mouse, and never seen to alight on trees. Dr. Coues speaks of it as a resident species in South Carolina, especially abundant during the period of migration.

Mr. Nuttall and Mr. Audubon speak of it as occurring in Oregon, but Dr. Cooper did not meet with it on the Pacific coast. Dr. Kennerly obtained a single specimen on one of the forks of the Colorado, in February. Mr. Ridgway met with the western form of this species, in suitable places, in the Sacramento Valley and the Great Basin, and proposes for it the name of perpallidus.

In the vicinity of Newark, N. J., I have found this species apparently one of the most abundant in that neighborhood, having obtained there in the month of June more eggs of this than of any other species.

In Northfield, Ill., near the lake shore, Mr. Robert Kennicott met with the nests of these birds in great abundance. From these facts I infer that it is not necessarily or exclusively a bird of the sea-shore, but that in certain favorable localities it is as abundant in the interior as on the coast, and that at intervals it may be met with from Texas to Maine, and from the Atlantic to the interior, nearly or quite to the Pacific coast.

In Jamaica, Mr. March states, this species is not uncommon in the savannas and grass lands near Spanish Town. It is a resident in that island, and breeds there in considerable numbers, nesting in tufts of grass-roots. It is only common in certain localities.

I have never heard its note to know it. Wilson speaks of it as a short, weak, interrupted chirp. According to Mr. Ridgway, it bears a close resemblance to the note of a grasshopper. Nuttall says they sing in an agreeable voice, something like that of the Purple Finch, though less vigorously; and Audubon characterizes it as an unmusical ditty, composed of a few notes weakly enunciated at intervals.

It is terrestrial in its habits, living, nesting, and feeding on or near the ground. It subsists on larvæ, insects, and the seeds of grasses and small weeds.

This bird builds its nest on the ground, usually in a small tuft of grass or in a cluster of plants. It is made of dry grasses, and is lined with fine bent and horsehair. The young are said to follow their parents for a short time, but soon separate, and learn to take care of themselves. This species is not gregarious, and is never seen in flocks, not even when just about to migrate.

Wilson and Nuttall describe the eggs as grayish-white, sprinkled with brown. Audubon says they are dingy-white, sprinkled with brown spots. This is not accurate. The ground-color is a clear crystalline white, beautifully dashed and marbled with bold markings of an almost golden brown. These spots vary in size, are often quite large, and occasionally make a corona about the larger end. The eggs are of a rounded oval, almost spherical, shape, measuring .75 by .63 of an inch.

WESTERN YELLOW-WINGED BUNTING.

Coturniculus passerinus, var. perpallidus, Ridgway, Report of U. S. Geol. Expl. 40th Par. Coturniculus passerinus, Cooper, Orn. Cal. 1, 189.

Sp. Char. Adult (No. 58,605 ♂, Antelope I., Great Salt Lake, June 4, 1869; U. S. Geol. Expl. 40th parallel) similar to var. passerinus, but the light tints above prevailing, the ground a pale ash-color, and the chestnut spots in excess of the black ones. Specks on the nape very minute. Buff tinge to cheeks, throat, and jugulum so faint as to be scarcely appreciable. Wing, 2.60; tail, 1.90; bill, .33 from frontal feathers by .24 in depth at base; tarsus, .70. Young (No. 53,942 Ruby Valley, Nev., July 22, 1868) differing from young of var. passerinus in a predominance of the light, instead of the dark, markings on upper surface, streaks across breast so faint as to be just appreciable, instead of distinct, and nearly black.

Hab. Western Province of United States, from eastern base of Rocky Mountains to the Pacific.

This very appreciably different race replaces the restricted var. passerinus, in the Western Province of the United States. In its paler colors and much more slender bill than its eastern representative, it agrees with Passerculus alaudinus, Poocætes confinis, etc., as compared with P. savanna, P. gramineus, etc. It is to this race that the biographical notes in the preceding article refer, as far as based on western specimens.

Genus AMMODROMUS, Swainson.

Ammodromus, Swainson, Zoöl. Jour. III, 1827. (Type, Oriolus caudacutus, Gm.)

Gen. Char. Bill very long, slender, and attenuated, considerably curved towards the tip above. The gonys straight. 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 tail is rather shorter than the wings, and graduated laterally; each feather stiffened, lanceolate, and acute.