364 



SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS — PASSERES— OSCINES 



culmen 0.50 long. No yellowish over eye or on edge of wing ; no evident median stripe on 

 crown. Brownish-gray, obsoletely streaked with dark brown, most noticeable on crown and 

 middle of back ; entire under parts dull white, confluently streaked with clear brown every- 

 where except on throat, middle of belly, and crissum. Wings and tail dusky-gi-ay, the 

 rectrices with paler edges, the primaries with whitish edges, the wing-coverts and secondaries 

 broadly edged and tipped with grayish-bay. An obscure whitish superciliary line. Bill light 

 brown, under mandible paler or yellowish ; legs jmle. Length 5.25; wing 2.50-2.75 ; tail 2.00. 

 Pacific coast, U. S., especially California ; a curious species, common, maritime, representing, 

 with var. onthinus, the Ammodrami in the marshes of the seashore. 



231. P. gutta'tus. (Lat. guttatus, spotted; gutta, a drop.) St. Lucas Savanxa Sparrow. 

 Bill shaped as in rostratus, relatively as stout, but smaller ; culmen 0.45 ; depth at base 0.25. 

 Bird smaller : pattern of coloration the same, but tone darker ; streaking of the under parts 

 sharper, heavier, and darker. Instead of the light brownish-gray of rostratus the upper parts 

 are here dark, almost olivaceous, browTi, so that the dark streaking of the crown and inter-* 

 scapulars is less noticeable. The same difference characterizes the under parts. Cape St. 

 Lucas. 



Obs. There is a sparrow of the L. Cala. Gulf coast and islands like guttatus : larger ; 

 wing 2.75 ; bill 0.50, at base 0.30 deep, thus as large as that of rostratus, but regularly conic, 

 with straight culmen suddenly deflected at end, and perfectly straight commissure ; upper 

 mandible and tip of lower blackish ; rest apparently yellowish. An n. sp. f P. sanctorum 

 N., Mus. S. I., San Benito Isl. (See Pr. U. S. Nat. Mus., March, 1S83, p. 538.) 

 76. POCE'CETES. (Gr. nor), poe, grass ; olKirqs, oiketes, an inhabitant.) Grass Sparrows. 

 Bill moderate, culmen, gonys and commissure nearly straight. Wings long, longer than tail, 

 tip formed by first 4 quills ; inner secondaries somewhat elongate, less so than in Passerculus. 

 Tail emarginate, with rather broad firm feathers, not acuminate at ends. Tarsus about as long 

 as middle toe without claw ; lateral toes of about equal lengths, their claws scarcely reaching 

 base of middle claw ; hind claw as usual, not longer than its digit. Plumage thickly streaked 

 everywhere above, on sides below and across breast ; bend of wing chestnut ; 1-3 outer tail 

 fcathers white ; crown ^dthout light median stripe ; no trace of yellow anywhere. 



232. **• grami'neus. (Lat. gramineus, applied to a grass-loving bird; gramen, grass. Fig. 228.) 



^^ __- _ _-_^ Grass Finch. Bay- winged Bunting. 



Vesper-bird. Above, grayish -brown, 

 closely and uniformly marked with dusky- 

 centred brown-edged streaks, and further 

 variegated by pale gray edging of the 

 feathers. Crown quite like back, though 

 the marking is in smaller pattern ; super- 

 ciliary line and eye-ring whitish. Under 

 parts dull white, usually noticeably buff- 

 tinged in the streaked areas, thickly streaked 

 across breast and along sides with dusky- 

 centred brown-edged streaks, anteriorly 

 tending to concentrate in lateral chains 

 bounding the white throat ; above this 

 chain a maxillary brown stripe ; auriculars 

 varied with light and dark brown. Quills 



jd Buutiiig, reduced. (Sheppard 



Fig. 228. — Bay-wiiij 

 del. Nichols sc.) 



fuscous, the longer ones with grayish-white edging, the secondaries and greater and median 

 coverts with broad firm brown and white edges and tips ; lesser coverts bright chestnut, whence 

 the name " bay-winged." Outer tail-feather largely or wholly white, next pair or two pairs 

 largely white in decreasing amount. Upper mandible brown; lower, and the feet, flesh- 



