484 A NEW SHARP-TAILED SPARROW RIDGWAY. 



coloration of tbe sides of the head and lower parts, this new form 

 resmbles A. leconteii more closely than A. caudacutus nelsoni. The lower 

 parts are, in fact, exactly the same, while as to the sides of the head 

 the only difference is that A. leconteii has pale grayish instead of deep 

 buff' lores, and a more distinct blackish i)ost-ocular streak. In other 

 respects, however, it is very different from A. leconteii, the absence of a 

 sharply defined median crown-stripe aud the presence of conspicuous 

 whitish steaks on the back being the most obvious characters. 



The single specimen upon which this new form is based was shot by 

 Mr. Beck (after whom I have the pleasure of naming it), " among the 

 tules on the edge of a small salt-water slough leading into the southern 

 extremity of San Francisco Bay in Santa Clara County." 



