Birds 89 



is in the male a beautiful blue bird with a cinnamon-red patch on 

 the wings; but the female is brown, with only a trace of blue on 

 the rump. It is locally distributed in Colorado. The Lazuli Bunt- 

 ing (Passerina amoena), discovered by Say near what is now Canon 

 City, is one of our common but most beautiful birds. Above 

 and on the throat it is bright blue, beneath white, shading into 

 tawny on the chest. There is a conspicuous white band on the 

 wing. This applies to the male; the female is grayish-brown 

 above with little blue. The Dickcissel (Spiza americana) is un- 

 common; it has the breast, stripe on side of head, and patch on 

 each side of throat yellow; a large black patch on middle of throat. 

 The Lark Bunting (Calamospiza melanocorys of Stejneger), the 

 type of which came from the plains of the Platte River, is extremely 

 common in summer, often seen sitting on the fences. The sexes 

 are quite different; the male black with a large patch of white on 

 the wings, the female brown above and white below, plentifully 

 streaked with darker. Sclater notes that it is often erroneously 

 called the Bobolink. 



TANGARIDAE (TANAGRIDAE) 



A family closely related to the finches, but confined to 

 America, North and South. The Louisiana Tanager (Piranga 

 ludoviciana of Wilson) is common in summer; its name, like that 

 of the Prairie Dog, recalls the time when Louisiana was a very 

 large country. The male is a bright yellow bird with a red head, 

 a broad black saddle on the back, black tail and mainly black 

 wings. The female appears dark olive green, becoming yellow 

 below, with the middle of the throat either dusky or clear pale 

 yellow; there are two oblique pale bars on the wings. 



The Scarlet Tanager (P. olivacea, the name originally based 

 on the female), the Summer Tanager (P. rubra) and the Western 

 Summer Tanager (P. rubra cooperi) occur only as stragglers. 

 Concerning the second, see Oberholser, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washing- 

 ton, 1917, p. 122. 



HIRUNDINIDAE 



The swallows, found in both Hemispheres, form a very distinct 

 and recognizable family. The primaries of the wing form a 



