TEXAS PYRRHULOXIA 25 



"dark Quaker drab." Generally the inarkings are well scattered 

 over the entire egg, which may be either heavily speckled or sparingly 

 colored with large irregular spots or blotches. The eggs of the pyrrhu- 

 loxia cannot, with certainty, be distinguished from those of the 

 cardinal, although they average somewhat smaller. 



The measurements of 50 eggs average 24.5 by 17.8 millimeters; 

 the eggs showing the four extremes measure 27.2 by 18.8, 24.7 by 

 18.9, 21.9 by 17.0, and 22.9 by 16.0 millimeters. 



Distribution 



Range. — The Texas pyrrhuloxia is resident from southern New 

 Mexico (Mimbres, Tularosa, Lakewood) and western, central, and 

 southeastern Texas (Kendall County, Colmesneil) south to Michoacan 

 (San Agustin), Queretaro, and southern Tamaulipas (Juamave). 



Egg dates. — Texas: 66 records, March 13 to July 29; 38 records, 

 April 23 to May 19. 



PYRRHULOXIA SINUATA FULVESCENS van Rossem 



Arizona Pyrrhuloxia 



PLATE 3 



Contributed by Anders H. Anderson* 



Habits 



As Mr. Bent points out, the above generic name is a combination of 

 two Latin words, pyrrhula, a bullfinch, and loxia, a crossbUI. This 

 bird resembles a bullfinch in its short, thick biU, but its resemblance to 

 a crossbill is not so apparent, although its upper mandible is somewhat 

 decurved. The Latin loxia is derived from a Greek word meaning 

 crooked. The name may be perfectly logical as a scientific name, 

 but it seems a pity that this handsome bird could not be known by 

 some simpler and more euphonious common name. It has been 

 called the bullfinch cardinal, on account of its similar bill, and the 

 name gray cardinal has been suggested, since so much of its plumage is 

 in a soft and pleasing shade of gray. Either of these names would 

 be appropriate and popular. 



The specimens from which this species was first described by 

 Bonaparte, under the name sinuata, came from the vicinity of Mexico 

 City. Since then the species has been subdivided into three races, 

 the Texas bird, the Arizona bird, and the San Lucas bird. A. J. van 

 Rossem (1934a) is the authority for the above subspecific name for 



* Incorporating material from an unfinished manuscript by Mr. Bent. 



