FINCHES, SPARROWS, ETC. 377 



GENUS SPIZA. 



604. Spiza americana (Gmel.). DICKCISSKL. 



Bill stout, conical, compressed; wing' Ions;' :uid pointed; tarsus longer 

 than middle toe with claw. Adult /nan : under parts whit- 

 ish, with variable black throat patch and yellow breast, 

 yellow sometimes deepening" to salmon in the breeding' 

 season ; wing- with deep nitons patch ; forehead, lores, 

 superciliary, and malar stripe washed with yellow ; head 

 and neck gray, top of head usually olivaceous ; hack 

 brownish, streaked with black. Adult female : similar. 

 but duller, yellow more restricted, often wanting-, except 

 on breast ; throat white, bordered by dusky streaks ; the black of the 

 male usually wanting-. Young in Jirst innt^r : like adult female, but 

 everywhere tinged with dull huffy or clay color. Male : length (skins) 

 5.55-6.31. wing- 3.1I-3.3S, tail 2.17-2.42, 'bill .58-.61. Female: length 

 (skins) 5.50-5.74, wing- 2.94-3.05, tail 1.97-2.17. bill .50-.">ii. 



Distribution. Breeds chiefly in Upper Sonoran zone of the central 

 eastern United States from the Alleghanies to the Rocky Mountains. 

 Colorado, and Wyoming-; and from Ontario south to Texas; casually 

 southwest to Arizona and Lower California ; migrates to northern South 

 America. 



Nest. Largely of dried grasses, built near the ground in bushes or 

 low weeds, on meadow r s or prairies. Eggs : 3 to 5. plain pale blue. 



Food. Largely grasshoppers and crickets ; also grain and weed seed. 



When in southern Texas during the spring migration we met with 

 flocks of dickcissels on their way to the north. In places on the 

 open prairie two or three hundred would be sitting in rows on the 

 wire fences like swallows on telegraph wires. They could be re- 

 cognized at a distance by their outlines round heads and straight 

 hanging tails. When not in compact flocks they were scattered 

 through the chapparal singing on the tops of the bushes. Their song 

 had a mouthed, furry quality, but was none the less sunny and enjoy- 

 able. When they are on their breeding grounds their song is one of 

 the pleasantest features of the big grain fields. 



GENUS CALAMOSPIZA. 



605. Calamospiza melanocorys Stejn. LARK BUNTING. 



Bill conical, much deeper than broad at base, gently convex at tip and 

 base, nearly straight in middle ; wing- about four times as long as tarsus, 

 its tip almost truncated ; tail about three fourths as long as wing, much 

 more than basal half overlaid by upper coverts: slightly double-rounded 

 or nearly even, feathers rather narrow. Adult male in summer: whole bird 

 black or slaty except for white patch on Avings and sometimes white marks 

 on tail feathers. Adult female in summer: above grayish brown, streaked 

 with blackish ; wing patch restricted and tinged with huffy : tail except 

 middle feathers spotted with white ; under parts white, streaked on breast 

 and sides. Adult male in winter: similar to female, but wings and tail 

 blackish instead of brown, and feathers of lower parts black beneath the 

 surface and showing through more or less; chin black. Adult female in 

 u-inter : like summer female, but less grayish and more buffy. Young: 



