420 



BULLETIN 133, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



female (March 15) is still in worn breedino; dress, and a male and a 

 female (March 17 and 19), the former with tail not fnlly grown, 

 are in juvenal plumage. These specimens were secured at altitudes 

 ranging from 1,500 to 1,800 meters, the latter the elevation at a ranch 

 known as El Salto at the base of the main Cordillera. These birds 

 measure about as in B. c. choraules found on the plains beyond the 

 foothills in the same Province, but are distinctly darker. B. c. 

 cMleyisis seems to range across the Andes in this latitude as far as the 

 foothills on the eastern slope. Measurements of specimens of this 

 subspecies are tabulated below. 



Cata- 

 logue 



No. 



284952 

 284951 

 285256 

 285249 

 284953 

 284950 

 284949 

 285258 



Sex 



Male ad 



do 



do 



do 



Female im.. 

 Female ad. . 

 Female im 



Locality 



Concon, Chile 



do _ 



Potrerillos, Mendoza. 



do.... 



Concon, Chile 



.do. 



.do. 



Female ad-.! Potrerillos, Mendoza. 



Date 



Apr. 25,1921 

 Apr. 27, 1921 

 Mar. 19, 1921 

 Mar. 20, 1921 

 Apr. 24,1921 

 Apr. 2fi, 1921 

 Apr. 27,1921 

 Mar. 15, 1921 



Wing 



Mm. 

 76.7 

 74.2 

 78.0 

 80.5 

 77.5 

 72.3 

 72.5 

 77.2 



Mm. 

 22.5 

 22.0 

 22.0 

 21.2 

 21.6 

 21.0 

 22.0 

 21.6 



POOSPIZA MELANOLEUCA (d'Orbigny and Lafrcsnaye) 



Emicriza melanoleuca (1'Orbigny and Lafeesnaye, Mag. Zool., 1S37, cl. 2, 

 p. 82. (Cliiquitos, Bolivia.) 



Specimens taken are similar to a single skin seen from Sumaipata, 

 Bolivia, though the latter appears to have a slightly longer tail than 

 birds from the Argentine. The species was recorded as follows: 

 Resistencia, Chaco, July 10 (immature male taken) ; Las Palmas, 

 Chaco, July 13 to 31 (adult male; July 13, adult female, July 20) ; 

 Riacho Pilaga, Formosa, August 8 to 18 (three females, August 9 

 and 11); Formosa, Formosa, August 24; Kilometer 80, west of 

 Puerto Pinasco, Paraguay, September 11; Kilometer 200, west of 

 Puerto Pinasco, September 25; Tapia, Tucuman, April 7 to 13 

 (adult female, April 7). The female has the crown gray, with only 

 an indication of the black found in the male. The bird taken April 

 7 is in molt. One fully adult male has the flanks distinctly cinna- 

 mon, a marking seen in no other specimen. Hellmayr-^ notes that 

 Poospisa cinerea Bonaparte of Brazil is specifically distinct from 

 P. melanoleuca because of its longer wings, larger bill, and lack of 

 black on the crown in the adult male. These attractive little finches 

 were encountered in bands of a dozen or less that frequented the 

 ground or low coverts amid thickets, scattered bushes or growths of 

 saw grass. At an alarm they came out into the open for a few 

 seconds, chipping excitedly and flashing the white in the tail, but 



21 Nov. Zool., vol. 15, 1908, p. 35. 



