378 



S YS TEMA TIC S Y NOP SIS. — PA SSERES — OSCIXES. 



M(lu.il> of tlii-- 'sov <iio indi'-t 

 leathci- <if back uitli ilaiL 



Fig. 237. — Pine G 

 del. Nichols sc. ) 



mailable 111 colors from the 9. Adult 9 : Ashy-gray, paler below ; 

 (lutus-, those of head, rump, aud fore parts generally skirted 

 ^^^rf^^ --^ " '•■ with a saffron or yellowish color, very variable in 



^^^i*-% ■" '^t extent aud tint, from dull gamboge-yellow to olive- 



orange, or rusty-orange, or even reddish ; in some 

 specimens crown and rump quite bricky-red. Throat 

 sometimes abruptly paler than surrounding parts. 

 Eatlier smaller than ^ . Young ^ resembles 9 • 

 Northern portions of N. Am. to about the limit of 

 trees ; in summer, most of British America and N. 

 border of U. S., E. of the Rocky Mts. ; in winter, 

 range extended irregularly sometimes to Maryland, 

 Ohio, Illinois, and Kansas. Inhabits chiefly conif- 

 erous woods, in flocks when not breeding, feeding 

 upon the fruit of such trees. A fine musician, of 

 amiable disposition and gentle manners, often caged, 

 and in contiueineut often failing to develop or retain 

 the red color. Nest usually in conifers, composed 

 (Sheppard of a basement of twigs and rootlets, within which 

 is a more compact fabric of finer materials; eggs 

 usually 4, 1.05 X 0.74, greenish -blue, spotted and blotched with dark brown and blackish sur- 

 face-markings and lilac shell-spots. P. enudeator of former eds. of Key, as of A. 0. U. Lists, 

 1886-95. P. canadensis Cab., 1851. P. e. canadensis, A. 0. U. Suppl. List, Auk, Jan. 1899, 

 p. 113, No. 515. I agree with A. 0. U. that this is a good subspecies of P. emicleator. It is 

 decidedly larger than the European bird : wing sometimes up to 5.00, rarely under 4.50, or tail 

 under 4.00, while these parts in enudeator average only 4.25 and 3.65 ; and the 9 of canadensis 

 fails to show the peculiar olivaceous tint characteristic of 9 enudeator. I have not such a good 

 opinion of the following subspecies, which I spread on my page in deference to the A. 0. U. 

 P. e. monta'na, (Lat., of mountains.) Rocky Mountain Pine Grosbeak. "Similar to 

 P. e. californica but decidedly (f) larger and slightly darker, the adult ^ with the red of a 

 darker, more carmine, hue." Wing 4.71 ; tail 3.72; ouhnen 0.63; depth of bill at base 0.47; 

 width 0.39; tarsus 0.92; middle toe without claw 0.66. Rocky Mts., breeding from Montana 

 and Idaho to New Mexico. Included under the stock form in former eds. of the Key. P. e. 

 Montana Ridgw., Auk, Oct. 1898, p. 3J9; A. 0. U. Suppl. List, Auk, Jan. 1899, p. 113, 

 No. 51 5 a. 



P. e. califor'nica. (Lat., Californian.) Californian Pine GROSBEAK. Said to differ 

 from P. e. canadensis in "larger, more hooked, and less turgid bill," together with deficiency 

 of dark centres of dorsal and scapular feathers, and to inhabit the Sierras Nevadas of California 

 from 7,000 feet up to timber line. Included under the stock form in former eds. of the Key. 

 P. e. californica Price, Auk, Apr. 1897, p. 182 ; A. 0. U. Suppl. List, Auk, Jan. 1899, 

 p. 113, No. 515 b. 



P. e. alascen'sis. (Lat., of Alaska.) Alaskan Pine Grosbeak. " Similar to P. e. can- 

 adensis but decidedly (?) larger, with smaller or shorter bill and paler coloration ; both sexes 

 with the gray parts distinctly (?) lighter, more ashy." ^ : Wing 4.61 ; tail 3.65 ; culmen 

 0.57; depth of bill at base 0.48; width 0.40; tarsus 0.90; middle toe without claw 0.60. 

 9 : Wing 4.57 ; tail 3.68, etc. Northwestern N. Am., " including wooded portions of Alaska, 

 except Kadiak and the southern coast region; " S. in winter to eastern British Columbia, Mon- 

 tana, etc. Included distinctly in the stock form in former eds. of the Key; I say ''Alaska" 

 expressly, though the concordance as published fails to give "C 190 part." P. e. alascensis 

 Ridgw., Auk, Oct. 1898, p. 319; A. 0. U. Suppl. List, Auk, Jan. 1899, p. 114, No. 515 c. 



