61. CALAMOSPIZA. 595 



the edge of tho wing black ; quills below dusky, the inner edge 

 ashy. Total length 5 - 8 inches, culmen - 5, wing 3T5, tail 2-15, 

 tarsus 09. 



The specimen described was obtained with the nest and eggs by 

 Dr. Coues on the 9th of July. Another female, obtained in June, 

 differs from the one described only in wanting the black on the 

 chin. This is also absent in a hen bird procured in August, and is 

 probably the sign of a very old bird. The stripes on the breast and 

 flanks vary somewhat in individuals, being much broader in some 

 than in others ; the moustachial streak is also broken up into spots 

 in some specimens. 



Young male. Resembles the old female at first, being brown above, 

 but the scapulars are blackish, edged with dull white ; the black 

 centres to the feathers of the upper surface are broader and plainer, 

 and the white edges to the quills are much more distinct than in the 

 adult female. 



The young bird at first resembles the nestling of a Lark, and has 

 all the feathers margined with saudy buff, and is tinged with yellow 

 underneath. 



The full black plumage is assumed by a moult, but it is probable 

 that at least two years elapse before the adult dress is gained. At 

 all events the species has a spring moult, as specimens procured in. 

 May and June are in full process of change, renewing not only the 

 body-feathers but the quills. 



It would seem that from the nestling plumage the first moult of 

 the male (i. e. into the first winter plumage) is into a nearly uniform 

 brown dress, in general like that of the adult female, and having 

 dusky centres to the feathers of the back ; the general tone of the 

 upper surface, however, inclines more to a rufous-brown. The wings 

 are those of the adult male, the quills, primary-coverts, and bastard- 

 wing being all black, but the remainder of the wing-coverts are 

 washed with rufous, the white being replaced by creamy buff. 

 The lores, sides of face, ear-coverts, and throat arc almost entirely 

 black, and many of the feathers on the breast have the central streak 

 in process of widening out into a broad stripe, showing that a change 

 in the pattern of the feather accompanies the moulting of the under 

 surface. 



The specimen described is one shot on the 11th of September, 

 and it is quite likely that the full dress of the adult male is gained 

 in the first spring, the pale brown quills seen in some specimens 

 at that season of the year being the black feathers of the previous 

 autumn, bleached by the wear and tear of a winter's usage. 



Hub. The same as that of the genus. 



a, b. d 1 ad. ; 49th Parallel, June 1874 (G. N. A. Boundary Com- 



c. $ ad. sk. Dawson). mission [P.]. 



d. 6 juv. sk. Three Buttes, Aug. 8, 1874 (Dr. U.S. Nat. Mus. [P.]. 



E. Cones ; Sm. no. 67572). 



e. 2 ad. sk. Frenchman's River, July 9, U.S. Nat. Mus. [P.]. 



1874 (Dr.E. Coues; Sm. no. 

 67577). 



2q2 



