284 Annals of the Carnegie Museum. 



black pectoral area In the male, depending possibly upon age, as well 

 as a variation in the exact shade of the upper parts. In the female 

 there is even more variation in the first mentioned respect, some in- 

 dividuals having the black area well marked, while in others there is 

 no trace of it; in the case of the latter, which I take to be younger birds, 

 the yellow of the throat and superciliaries is also duller and more re- 

 stricted. A female in juvenal dress, taken July ii, is dull grayish 

 olive above, and paler below; the superciliaries and chin-spot indi- 

 cated in dull buffy; the remiges and rectrices are edged with greenish 

 as in the adult bird, but the color is duller. 



The type-locality of this form is Santo Domingo, and according 

 to Mr. Ridgway {Birds of North and Middle America, I, 1901, 531) 

 birds from this island differ in certain minor respects from Cuban 

 specimens, and Messrs. Bangs and Zappey confirm this with reference 

 to Isle of Pines examples also. But the differences are very slight, 

 and I agree with these authors in considering them as unworthy of 

 recognition by name. 



The Yellow-faced Grassquit is a very common bird, possibly the 

 most abundant bird in the island. It occurs in large scattered flocks 

 during most of the year, frequenting the bushy pastures, citrus-groves, 

 pineapple-fields, etc. In fact it is found almost everywhere, except 

 in the jungles and swamps. In its habits it recalls the Junco of the 

 north, spending most of its time on the ground, and flying up into the 

 trees when disturbed. It feeds on the seeds of various grasses and 

 weeds, and according to Mr. Read occasionally on grasshoppers and 

 crickets. As early as February the flocks break up into pairs, and 

 nesting begins in March. The nests are built low down in a bush or 

 shrub, not necessarily in secluded places, however, as the birds often 

 select the vicinity of houses for this purpose, like the Chipping Sparrow 

 in the north. The nest is a globular affair constructed of dry grasses 

 and other vegetable fibers, with an entrance on one side. Four or 

 five eggs are the usual complement; they are pale blue in color, with 

 small brownish and blackish spots on the larger end. 



140. Tiaris canora (Gmelin). Melodious Grassquit. 



Passerina collaris Poey, Mem. Hist. Nat. Cuba, 1854, 426 (Nueva Gerona, fide 



Gundlach). 

 Euelheia canora Cory, Cat. W. Indian Birds, 1892, 113 (I. of Pines, in geog. distr.). 



— Ridgway, Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus., No. 50, I, 1901, 536 (Cory's record). 



