432 



U. S. p. R. K. EXP. AND SURVETS — ZOOLOGY — GENERAL REPORT. 



C. KnYNCHOPHANES, Baird.^ — Bill very large at tlie base ; hind claw shorter. No rufous 

 nuchal collar. 



Crown black ; shoulders chestnut ; beneath white, with a black pectoral crescent. 



P. maccownii. 

 The essential characters of the genus, as usually understood, consist in the very long and 

 pointed wings ; the moderate, nearly even tail ; the very long, little curved, hind claw. 

 Whether the elongated and nearly straight hind claw be not an arbitrary character embracing 

 species otherwise dissimilar I do not pretend to decide. Bonaparte considers the P. maccownii, 

 so totally distinct from the other species, as to warrant a place in a different family. 



Comparative measurements of species. 



PLECTEOPHANES NIVALIS, Meyer. 



Snow Bnuting. 



Eniberiza nivalis, L. Syst. Nat. I, 1766, 308. (Not FringUla nivalis, L.)— Forster, Pliila. Trans. LXII, 1773,403.- 



WiLsoN, Am.Orn. Ill, 1811, 86; pi. .\xi.— Aud. Orn. Biog. II, 1834,575: V, 1839, 496 ; pi. 189. 

 Emberi:a {Plectrophanes) nivalis, Bon. Obs. 1825, No. 89. 



" Plectrophanes nivalis, Meter."— Bon. List, 1838.— Aud. Syn. 1839, 103.— Ib. Birds Amer. Ill, 1841, 55 ; pi. 155. 

 Emberiza monlana, Gmelin, Syst I, 1788, 867, 25. 

 Emberiza mustelina, Gmelin, Syst. I, 1788, 867, 7. 

 Emberiza glacialis, Latham, Ind. Orn. I, 1790, 398. 



Sp Cu. — Colors, in full plumage, entirely black and white. Middle of back between scapulars, terminal half of primaries and 

 tertiaries, and two innermost tail feathers, black ; elsewhere pure white. Legs black at all seasons. In winter dress white beneath ; 

 the head and rump yellowish brown, as also some blotches on the side of the breast ; middle of back brown, streaked with black ; 

 white on wings and tail much more restricted. Length, about 6.75 ; wing, 4,35 ; tail, 3.05 ; first quill longest. 



llab — Northern America from Atlantic to Pacific ; south into the United States in winter. 



This species varies much in color, and the male iu full plumage is seldom if ever seen within 

 the limits of the United States. 



' It is my impression that Bonaparte has proposed a name for this section in removing it to another family, but I am unable 

 to find it. 



