Nesting of the Dic'kcissel. 269 



cattions, that of E. miliaria with the bill of considerable strength 

 and that of the weaker make of E. s oh aeni cuius. To the former 

 will he allied our present species, under the latter will rank the 

 small F. soeialis, melodia and palustris.; the form is further repre- 

 sented in North America by Plectrophanes and Pipila and may be 

 said to run into the Finches by means of the latter and Zonotrichia. 

 The principal variations are the want or smallness of the palatial 

 knob and the wideness of the upper mandible, which exceeds that 

 of the lower, while the reverse is the case in the true birds " (? 

 Buntingis) . 



The Dickcissel, or Black -throated Bunting-, is an abund- 

 ant species, and has a fairly extensive range. In winter it 

 almost reaches the Equator in Colombia, and is also found in 

 Central America; it winters also in Mexico and Arizona. As 

 a breeding species it ranges over a large area of Eastern North 

 America, especially the States of New York and Pennsylvania, 

 northward to Lake Superior. For its northern limit I may 

 quote the " Ornithologist and Oologist "—a Magazine which, 

 though chiefly contributed to by the destructive " collector," 

 contains a good deal of the only kind of information which 

 is really worth having with respect to birds, namely, first- 

 hand observation. 



" St. Louis, Minnesota. On April 21st: first saw a party 

 of ising-ing males. April 29th: in small flocks w'hich dispersed 

 during the morning hours of warm days, re-entering old stands. 

 May 1st: the bulk of the species has arrived and they are jiow 

 very conspicuous in the morning, singing or flying singly or in 

 pairs, calling. Manhattan, Kansas, April 26th: first. April 29th: 

 full summer numbers. Polo, Illinois, May 3rd: first. Pine Bend, 

 Minnesota: occurs here to my certain knowledge. The above is 

 the most northerly record for Minnesota but it is also recorded 

 from the same latitude at Huron, Dakota." 



From another reference in the same Magazine we may 

 infer that its range is extending: — 



" Pranklin, Indiana. Not recognised in this country until a 

 few years since. Dr. Haymond had not seen it in 1869. Now its 

 raittling note may be heard from almost every field of our upland 

 f arims . 



" In the, eastern States it s&ems to he s'0')newhai local, for 

 another correspondent of the same m,affazine notes that in Warwick 

 Courity, Virginia, it is " rather uncommon ; a few noted in the open 

 fields, retreating* to the thicket at the first approach of alarm." 



In appearance the Dickcissel is a handsome bird. Fully 

 as large as a Yellowhammer, its breast and underparts are a 



