FRINGILLID.E 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 species 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 Frimjillid<e 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 SCL. & SALV. and Z. mystacalis HARTL. are 

 apparently referable to Amphispiza COUES, of which the Emberiza 

 bilineata CASSIN is typical, though they may possibly constitute a 

 generic or subgeneric group by themselves ; while Z. pilettta (BoDD.), 

 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. Adult: Crown, lores, chin, and throat, uniform deep black; beneath 

 pure white, the sides striped with black; sides of head gray; backlight gray- 

 ish brown, streaked with brownish black. Yonmj, ///>/ n-intrr: Crown bleu-k, 

 the feathers bordered with pale grayish brown, producing a scaled 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. 



I). 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. Adult: 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 light ash-gray, streaked with chestnut-brown; 

 edge of wing white, breast clear light ash-gray. Young. _ first iruitrr: Head- 

 stripes chestnut-brown and dull buff; otherwise similar to adult. Young, first 

 plumage: Crown dusky blackish on sides, the middle whitish streaked with 

 dusky; throat and breast more or less streaked with dusky. 



3. Z. gambeli.* Pattern of coloration exactly as in Irucophrys, 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. yamhrU, but median stripe of crown pure white, 

 wide as or wider than black lateral stripes; back ashy, streaked with chesnut- 

 brown; edge of wing white; throat, etc., pale ashy. (Colors exactly as in leu- 

 cophrys, except as to the lores, which are grayish white instead of black.) 



"Confined to the Pacific Coast. 



