FRINGILLID^ — THE FINCHES. 



99 



Species and Varieties. 



Common Characters. Male. Bright vermilioii-iL-J, more dusky purplish on 

 upper surface ; feathers adjoining base of bill black for greater or less extent. 

 Female. Above olivaceous, the wings, tail, and crest reddish ; beneath olivaceous- 

 whitish, slightly tinged on jugulum with red. 



C. virgiaianus. Culmen nearly straight; commissure with a slight lobe; 

 upper uiandiljle as deep as the lower, perfectly smooth. Bill red. Black 

 patch covering whole throat, its posterior outline convex. Female. Lining 

 of wing deep vermilion. Olivaceous-gray above, the wings and tail strongly 

 tinged with red ; crest only dull red, without darker shaft-streaks. Beneath 

 wholly light ochraoeous. No Ijlack around bill. 



A. Crest-feathers soft, blended. Rump not lighter red than back. 



a. Black of the lores passing broadly across forehead. Crest brownish- 

 red. Bill moderate. 



Culmen, .75 ; gonys, .41 ; depth of bill, .54. Feathers of dorsal 

 region broadly margined with grayish. Wing, 4.05 ; tail, 4.50 ; 

 crest, 1.80. Hub. Eastern Province of United States, south of 

 40°. Bermudas var. Virginian us. 



b. Black of the lores not meeting across forehead ; crest pure vermilion. 

 Bill robust. 



Culmen, .84 ; gonys, .47 ; depth of bill, .70. Feathers of dorsal 

 region without grayish borders ; red beneath more intense ; wing, 

 3.60; tail, 4.20; crest, 2.00. ffnb. Eastern Mexico (Mirador; 

 Yucatan; "Honduras") var. coccinens ^ 



Culmen, .82 ; gonys, .47 ; depth of bill, .65. Feathers of dorsal 

 region with distinct gray borders; red beneath lighter. AVing, 4.00; 

 tail, 5.00 ; crest, 2.00. Mah. Cape St. Lucas, and Arizona ; Tres 

 Marias Islands. (Perhaps all of Western Mexico, north of the Eio 

 G-rande de Santiago.) ....... var. iyneus. 



B. Crest-feathers stiff" compact. Rump decidedly lighter red than the back. 



Culmen, .75 ; gony.s, .41 ; depth of bill, .57. Dorsal feathers 

 without grayish margins; red as in the last. Wing, 3.40' tail, 

 3.80; crest, 2.00. Hah. Western Mexico; Colima. "Acapulco 

 et Realejo." var. carneus.' 



C. phoeniceus.' Culmen much arched ; commissure arched ; upper mandi- 

 ble not as di.'ep as lower, and with grooves forward from the nostril, parallel 

 with the curve of the culmen. Bill whitish-brown. Black patch restricted 

 to the chin, its posterior outline deeply concave. 



1 Cardinulii virginidnns, var. coccineus, Ridgway. 



^ Cardinalis vircjiniamts, var. carncun. i Cardinalis airncus. Less. R. Z. 1S42, 209. — Bo.n'ap. 

 Consp. I, 501. 



According to thn locality quoted (" Acapulco et Realejo ") tliis name is the one to be applied 

 to the variety diagnosed in the synopsis ; it is difficult, however, to make anything out of the 

 de.scription, as it is evidently taken from a female or immature bird. If the locality (juoted be 

 correct, this fomi ranges along the Pacific Coast, probably from latitude 20° south, as far at least 

 as Nicaragua. North of 20°, and on the Tres Marias Islands, it is replaced by var. igneus, and 

 on the Atlantic coast, from Tampico south to Honduras, is represented by the var. coccineus. 



In the very long, stiff crest-feathers, and light red rump, this variety of C. virginiavus closely 

 approximates to C. jihaniccus, but m other respects is very distinct. 



2 CardinaUs phceniceus, (Gorr.D,) Bonap. P. Z. S. lS.'i7. Ji. Ill ; Consp. I, 501. — ScL^VTER & 

 Salvin, Ex. Orn. Pt. VIII, 1868, pi. Ixiii. 



