Notes on the Plumage of North American Sparrows 



TWENTY-FIRST PAPER 



By W. DeW. MILLER 



(See Frontispiece) 



Pyrrhuloxia {Pyrrhiiloxia siniiata, Figs, i and 2). The nestling or ju\-enal 

 plumage scarcely differs from that of the adult female, save that the feathers 

 are more woolly in texture and the underparts much paler. The first winter 

 dress is attained by a complete renewal of the body plumage; the male acquires 

 the rosy shade below and, though it is often less bright and extensive than in 

 older birds, both male and female are now almost indistinguishable from the 

 adults. It is uncertain whether the wings and tail are replaced at this time, 

 as in the Cardinal, but there is probably no regular or complete renewal of 

 these feathers. 



There is no spring molt, and the breeding plumage differs from that of 

 autumn only in the greater amount of red visible on the underparts of the 

 male, due to the wearing off of the gray tips of the feathers. 



The female is often wholly without red on the throat and center of the 

 belly, but possibly this is so only in immature birds. 



Three geographical races of the Pyrrhuloxias are recognized, but they are 

 all very similar in appearance. The Texas Pyrrhuloxia differs from the Arizona 

 race in its larger bill and darker coloration. The San Lucas form resembles 

 the first in color but is slightly smaller, excepting the bill, which is larger. 



Cardinal {Cardinalis cardinalis, Figs. 3 and 4). The young Cardinals 

 in nestling plumage are lighter beneath than the adult female and lack the 

 grayish face and throat. The crest of the male is tinged with dull red and the 

 underparts with pink; in the female only the wings and tail are reddish. 



At the postjuvenal molt the entire plumage, including wings and tail, is 

 renewed both sexes becoming indistinguishable from the adults except by 

 the color of the bill, which does not become red till later. The bill of the 

 adult female is as red as that of the male, and the tail-feathers are merely 

 edged with gray, the plate conveying an erroneous impression in these respects. 



The breeding dress is acquired by wear only, the male becoming brighter 

 and redder than in winter through loss of the grayish tips. 



The Florida Cardinal is slightly smaller and darker than the Eastern 

 Cardinal, while the Gray-tailed race is scarcely distinguishable from the latter. 



The two western subspecies differ from those of the East chiefly in the 

 brighter red crest of the male, and the pale, instead .of dark gray, face and 

 throat of the female. The Arizona form is decidedly the largest of all the 

 Cardinals, the tail being particularly long. 



The four races of southeastern ^Mexico are very intensely colored, the red 

 of the males being very bright and pure, and the face of the females black or 

 grayish black. 



(172) 



