FRINGILLID^.— THE FIXCHES. 533 



quill almost longest. The legs are long, the outstretched toes reaching to 

 the end of the tail ; the lateral toe consideralily shorter than the middle, 

 which is not much longer than the hinder. The tail is short, narrow, and 

 emarginate ; the feathers acute. 



Species and Varieties. 



Co.M.MON CiiAUACTERS. Abovo grayisli-biowii, beneath white ; whole up)ier 

 surface, a.s well as the breast and sides, streaked with duskj'. A light super- 

 ciliary stripe, and a whitish maxillary one, the latter bordered above and below 

 by stripes of coalesced dusky streaks. 



A. Bill small, the culmen slightly concave in the middle portion : a median 

 light stripe on the ci'own. 



1. F. savauua. Superciliai-y stripe yellow anteriorly; streaks on the 

 back blackish, sharply defined. 



Throat and upper part of abdomen unstreaked ; vertex-stripe icith- 

 out yelloio tinge. 



Bill .34 from forehead and .25 in depth at the base; wing, 2.85; 

 tail, 2.30. Colors deep ; outer surface of wing (in spring) decidedly 

 reddish. Hah. Eastern Province of North America . var. .s a v a n n n . 



Bill, .32 and .20, or less; wing, 2.75; tail, 2.10. Colors very pale; 

 outer surface of wing (in spring) pale ashy. Hab. Western Prov- 

 ince of North America, except coast of California, where replaced 

 by vav. aiiihintis ....... xm: alau dimix. 



Bill, .37 and .27, or considerably more; wing, 3.10; tail, 2.40. 

 Colors as in savanna. Hab. Northwest coast of North America 



var. s a it d w i ch e n -i i s . 



Tltroat and upper part of abdomen .':trealied ; vertex-stripe strongly 



tinged with yeltoiv. 

 Bill, .33 and .19; wing, 2.50; tail, 1.90. Colors darker than var. 

 savanna, the ground-color more uniform, and the black streaks 

 heavier and more numerous. Hab. Coast of California, var. antJi in us. 



2. P. princeps. Superciliary stripe white anteriorly ; streaks on the 

 back sandy-brown, badly defined. Wing, 3.25; tail, 2.60; bill, .45 and 

 .23 ; tarsus, .95 ; middle toe, .80. Hab. Eastern Massachusetts (north- 

 ern regions in summer?). 



B. Bill robust, the culmen arched ; no median light stripe on the crown. 

 Superciliary stripe white auteriorh' ; streaks on the back sandy-brown, 

 obsolete. 



3. P. rostratus. 



Bill, .43 and .30; wing, 2.90; tail, 2.25. Ground-color above 

 fulvous-gray, beneath white ; the streaks, above and below, sandy- 

 brown. Colors much as in P. princeps. Hab. Coast of Cali- 

 fornia, to the mouth of tlie Colorarlo River ; Cape St. Lucas in 

 winter ......... var. rust rat us. 



Bill, .33 and .22; wing, 2.55; tail, 2.00. Ground-color above 

 plumbeous-gray ; beneath white ; streaks blackish-brown. Hab. 

 Cape St. Lucas (resident ?) vav. guff attis. 



A careful examination of the ver}^ large series of Passercuhis allied to 

 savanna in the museum of the Smithsonian Institution, recently made, 



