SAN LUIS HOUSE FINCH 315 



age with the red areas a rose purple shade as in rhodocolpus, but more 

 heavily and darkly streaked below, and underparts with pronounced 

 gray edgings, giving almost a hoary effect, particularly noticeable 

 on the hind-neck and auricular region; females darker above and 

 more heavily streaked below." 



For a further discussion of this subspecies, the reader is referred to 

 a review of the house finches by Robert T. Moore (1939). 



Distribution 



Range. — The San Luis house finch is resident from south central and 

 eastern Chihuahua (Chupadero) and the middle Rio Grande Valley 

 of Texas (50 miles northwest of Comstock, Fort Clark), south to 

 Zacatecas (Sombrerete, Lulu), San Luis Potosi (San Luis Potosi), 

 and Nuevo Le6n (Linares). 



GARPODACUS MEXIGANUS RUBERRIMUS Rldgway 



San Lucas House Finch 



Habits 



Ridgway (1887a) proposed the above name for the house finch of 

 the southern half of Lower California. He says in a footnote: "A 

 considerable percentage of the specimens which I have been able to 

 examine are so peculiar that nothing approaching them can be found 

 in the very large series from other localities. These peculiarities 

 consist, (1) in the smaller general size, (2) rather more swollen bill, 

 and (3) greater extension of the red. This last peculiarity is carried 

 to such an extreme that in all of the 'Cape St. Lucas* specimens the 

 under tail-coverts are deeply tinged with pink, while in some even the 

 wing-bands are pinkish; in several the pure deep madder-pink of the 

 breast is continued backward over the belly and flanks, where the 

 usual dusky streaks are entirely obliterated." 



Wilham Brewster (1902) writes: 



This is one of the most abundant birds of the Cape Region, throughout which 

 it is very generally distributed, save on the higher mountains, where it was not 

 seen by either Mr. Belding or Mr, Frazar. The latter found it building at 

 Triunfo the last week in April. Young of the first brood were on the wing and 

 their parents laying a second time by the last week in June. One pair had taken 

 possession of an old nest of the Arizona Hooded Oriole, which was attached to 

 the under side of a palm leaf. 



Mr. Bryant says that most of the nests of the St. Lucas House Finch which he 

 found at Comondu "were in palm trees and well nigh inaccessible" ; but one was on 

 the "under side of a veranda awning of an adobe house" among the branches of a 

 vine. 



