234 Binns of Illinois. 



nmrkiiiKS more slmrjily defuu'd ; in the breedinf^ season the plumage 

 assumes a burnt appearance, the dark tints intensifj' and spreail, 

 so that sometimes the upper parts appear almost uniformly dusky ; 

 the bill api)ears larger than iu winter, in consequence of the less 

 development, or wearing away, of its basal tufts. In tliis dusky 

 summer condition it becomes the .£. fiiscescens of Coues. In the 

 series of over two hundred examples examined, all midsummer 

 specimens are in the plumage of fitsrcacois, while the latter is not 

 seen in any autumnal, winter, or spring birds. 



This pretty httle bii*d is a common and regular winter visitor m 

 the northern portions of the State, but its occurrence in the south- 

 ern portions is so rare that the writer has seen it but on one oc- 

 casion at Mount Carmel. It appears in flocks, which feed upon 

 the seeds of various herbaceous plants, and is very unsuspicious. 

 Its breeding range includes the whole region from Labrador to 

 Alaska, with an undetei-mineil southern limit, which, however, prob- 

 ably nowhere approaches very near to the northern boundary of 

 the United States. 



According to Dr. Brewer, "theii" migration southward in winter is 

 evidently caused more by want of food than by the state of the 

 temperature. They remain in high northern regions in the most 

 inclement weather, and often appear among us m seasons not re- 

 markably cold, iuul remain until late in the spring." 



Acanthis linaria rostrata (Coues). 



GREATER REDPOLL. 



Popular synonym. Greenland Dusky Redpoll. 



.■Koiolhiis loslraliis COUEH. Prop. Phil. Ac. 18C1, 378. 



Acaulliis liuaria roslrata Stejneoer. .\uk, i. 1(«4. IM. 



^Sgiolliua linariiia. var. hoWulli B. B. & R. Hist. X. Am. B. i. ISTJ. 493 [pnrt). 



yEaiotUiia linaria holhiiUi RlDOW. Nom. Am. B. ISSl, No. 179 a. 



yEgiolhus liuaria hoWoflli Brewst. Bull. N. O. C. 1S83. 95 (critii'iil). 

 Linaria briinnesdtns voN HoMEYEIi, J. f. O. 1879. 1*4 (part?). 



C'BAil. Similar to A linaria (i-o-a) in plumage (usually, however, more heavily 

 streaked on the sides, ete.), but all the dimensions decidedly greater. Wing. lUKKtae; 

 tail. 2.CO-2.70; eulmen. .41-.47; depth of bill at hnsr, .•25-..'J(i; tarsus, .IKV-.70; middle toe, 

 .35-.40. 



This large race of A. liuaria is the Greenland representative of 

 the species, though it is by no means confined to that country. It 

 is, however, there, the prevailing if not the only form, whOe on the 



