124 BULLETIN 50, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 



Old AVorld species assigned to tlie genus/ and it is possible that if 

 all the known species could be examined at once good reasons for a 

 justilia])le subdivision of the genus could be found. Of the species 

 examined (including, l)esides all the American forms, the Palaearctic 

 C. e/'i/f/irinus, C. roseus, and C. t/iura^), C. thura is decidedh' the most 

 alierrant, in its relatively long tail and short wing — the former nearly 

 equaling the latter in length and the latter decided!}^ less than four 

 times as long as the tarsus — all the others having the tail little if any, 

 more, usually less, than three-fourths as long as the wing and the 

 latter fi'om four and a half to more than live times as long as the 

 tarsus. C tJmra is also peculiar in its short, rounded wing-tip, the 

 primaries exceeding the secondaries by less than the length of the 

 tarsus instead of by nearly twice the length of the latter; but it agrees 

 essentially with C. erythrinus and G. m€xicanu.s in the form of the bill. 

 The habits of C mexicanus are exceedingly different from those of 

 C. j!;w/;;/.>;^?'t?.?/s and C. eassinii^ resembling very closely those of the 

 house sparrow {Passer domestfcus). in nearl}' every respect; but those 

 of C. erytJwmus, which comes very close to C. mexicanus in form, 

 appear to be essentially like those of C. pnrjmrefus. 



KEY TO THE SPECIES AND SUBSPECIES OF CAEPODACUS. 



a. Tail deeply eni-irginate, shorter than wing by much less than length of tarsus; 

 adult males with wing-feathers edged with reddish; adult females and immature 

 males with upper jiarts conspicuously streaked with dusky, or else the ground- 

 color decidedly olive or olive-greenish. [Carpoducus.) 

 h. Wing more than 86.36, averaging 91.19; exposed culmen not less than 11.94, 

 usually much more, averaging 12.70; under tail-coverts conspicuously streaked 

 with dusky. ( Mountains of western United States south to si uithern ]\Iexico.) 



Carpodacus cassinii (p. 126) 

 hh. Wing not more than 86.36, averaging not more than 81.79; exposed culmen 

 usually much less than 11.9-1, averaging not more than 10.92; under tail- 

 coverts without streaks, or else with only some of the longer feathers 

 streaked. ( Carpodacus pvrjnireus. ) 

 c. Wing longer (averaging 83.31 in male, 80.26 in female), with ninth primary 

 usually longer than sixth; tail shorter (averaging 58.42); adult male 

 brighter colored, with rump light pinkish wine purple; adult female with 

 general color above olive-grayish. (Eastern North America.) 



Carpodacus purpureus purpureas (p. 128) 

 re. Wing shorter (averaging 79.76 in male, 77.22 in female), with ninth primary 

 usually shorter than sixth; tail longer (averaging 58.67); adult male 

 darker and duller in color, with rump dark wine purple or maroon 

 purple; adult female with general color above decidedly olive-greenish. 

 (Pacific coast, from southern California to liritish Columl)ia. ) 



Carpodacus purpureus californicus (p. 130) 



aa. Tail very slightly, if at all, emarginate at tiji, shorter than wing ])y much less 



than length of tarsus; adult males with wing-feathers edged with pale grayish; 



adult females and immature males witli ui:)per parts brownish gray obsoletely 



streaked with darker. [Burrica.) 



' Except JLrmatos])iz(i sipalii, which Dr. Sharpe (Cat. Birds Brit. 31us., vol. xii., pp. 

 388, 397) refers to Oirpodacus, but which certainly possesses excellent generic 

 characters. 



^ Since the above was written C. severizori, C. rliodorhlumyn, ('. grandis, and C. 

 stoVdzhx have been received at the U. S. National IMuseum. 



