INSESSORES I FRINGILLID^:. 



The second group embraces all the plain sparrow-like 

 birds marked with longitudinal stripes. The bill is small 

 and conical, tarsi lengthened, and the lateral claws never 

 reaching beyond the base of the middle claw. 



The Genus Centronix has the bill elongated, the wings 

 reaching beyond the middle of the tail, tarsi elongated, 

 the hind toe large and curved. 



Baird's Bunting, C. Bairdii, Baird, of the Yellowstone 

 region, is four and three quarters inches long, the wing 

 two and four fifths inches. 



The Genus Passcrculus has the tarsus about equal to 

 the middle toe, the lateral toes about equal, the wing 

 reaching to the middle of the tail, the first primary long- 

 est, the tertiaries equal to the primaries ; the tail is emar- 

 ginate and slightly rounded, and the feathers acute. 



The Savannah Sparrow, P. savanna, Bonap., of North 

 America east of the Missouri, is five and a half inches 

 long, the wing two and seven tenths inches ; the upper 

 parts streaked with dark brown, the crown with a median 

 stripe of yellowish gray ; a superciliary stripe, eyelids, 

 and edge of elbow, yellow ; the fore part of the breast 

 streaked, and the rest of the under parts mainly white. 

 It builds its nest on the ground at the foot of a tuft of 

 grass or low bush ; eggs four to six, pale bluish, softly 

 mottled with purplish brown. 



The Nootka Sparrow, P. sandwich en sis, Baird, of West- 

 ern North America, closely resembles the preceding. 



The Spotted Sparrow, P. antJiinus, Bonap., of the coast 

 of California, is similar to P. savanna, but is only five 

 inches long. 



The Lark Sparrow, P. alandinus, Bonap., of California 

 to Mexico, differs from P. savanna in being rather smaller, 

 and in paler colors. 



The Beaked Sparrow, P. restrains, Baird, of the coast 

 of California, is distinguished from all the preceding of 

 its genus by its longer bill. 



