226 STXoixr. r.inns — osciXES. 



band across the ends of tlif <.'rcatcr wins; coverts. Tail feathers with a -n-hite spot at the 

 end of the inner web. Length about C.5U ; wing, 3.50 ; tail, 3.20 ; tarsus, 1.00 ; bill above, 

 O.CO. 



Ilah High Central Plains to the Rocky Jlountains ; southwesterly to the Valley of 

 Mimbres and Sonora. Cape St. Lucas. 



Fftnale. 



Thi.s intercstincj species spends its time on the ground, associating in large 

 flocks, and, according to Nuttall, is one of the sweetest songsters of the 

 prairie. The nest is built among the grass, and the eggs are of a beautiful 

 Ijlue, sometimes witli a few red spots. 



Suh-Family SPIZIX.E. 



Cll.\.i!. Dill variable, always large, much arched, and with the culmen 

 considerably curved ; sometimes of enormous size, and with a great develop- 

 ment backwards of the lower jaw, which is always appreciably, sometimes 

 considerably, broader behind than the upper jaw at its base ; nostrils ex- 

 p)osed. Tail rather variable. Bill generally black or red. Wing shorter 

 than in the first gi'oup. Gape almost always much more strongly bristled. 

 Few of the .sjjecies sparrow-like or j/lain in appearance ; usually blue, red, 

 or black and white ; seldom (or never ?) streaked beneath. 



This di\"ision embraces several large and gayly colored genera of sparrow- 

 like birds, besides those here described, including the splendid cardinal 

 birds of Lower California, Mexico, and the East. They are all frequenters 

 of low shrubbery and the ground, unlike the brightly colored tree-finches of 

 the first sub-family {Coccothraustinw), and, besides their differences in habits, 

 show a corresponding distinction in having short wings. Some, however, 

 especially Guiraca, are intermediate in these respects. 



