FRmGILLIDJi — THE FINCHES — LEUCOSTICTE. JQ-j 



Leucosticte ai'ctoa, Pall.vs. 



THE SIBERIAN FINCH. 



Passer arctous, Pallas, Zoog. Hosso-As. 11.1831,21. — I'liiigiUa (linaria) arctoa, 'Hrxsot, 

 Bull. Acad. St. Put. 184-3. — Mi ddendorf. Sib. Rei.se, II. ii. 1852, 15.3.— Monlijmyitla 

 {Leucosticte] iirctoa, BoxAPAKTE and Sciilegel, Mon. Lo.\iens. 1850, 38; pi. 44, 45. — 

 Leucosticte uictoa, Mxiiiu, Birds Amcr. 185S, 4.'30 ; pi. 74, f. I. 



Sp. Ch.vr. (Figure, Sibiria.) Female, bod}- dark tdear brown, -with a faint suspicion 

 of purplish ; palur antL-riorly, esjjecially in tlic centres of the feathers of the head and breast. 

 Nape decidedly grayish. Frontal feathers and bristles dusky. Entire tail and coverts, 

 and the wings (except lesser coverts above and below), silvery gi-ay ; the ends of the feath- 

 ers (but nut the edges), especially of the quills, together with all the shafts, brownish; the 



gray everywhere very finely, almost unappreciably, mottled with dusky. Bill yellowish 

 with dusky tip ; feet black. Total length, C.50 ; wing, 4.70 ; tail, 3.40 ; exposed portion of 

 first primary, 3.50. Bill: length from forehead, 0. 64 ; from nostril, 0.37. Legs: tarsus, 

 0.80 ; middle toe and claw, 0.79 ; claw alone, 0.25 ; hind toe and claw, O.CO ; claw alone, 

 0.36. 



Hab. Siberia, the Kurile, ami the Aleutian Islands. 



It is not im]>rol)aljle that more than one species is included, under the 

 above s}aionyniy and geographical distribution, as the specimen before me is 

 considerably larger, and is otherwise to some extent different from those 

 figured and descrilied by Bonaparte and Schlegel. A Friiujilla Gchlcri of 

 Brandt, from Siberia, (Bulletin Academy, St. Petersburg, 1843, not of 1841,) 

 is probably a closely allied tliough distinct species. 



]S"o specimens from the Aleutian Islands are in American collections, and 

 I describe the species from a Siberian skin presented to the Smithsonian 

 Institution by Mr. John Gould. The bird is said to be very abundant in 

 Siberia, passing southward in winter, but soon returning northward, and 

 keeping in flocks about tlie villages in company with the redpolls. It is a 



