58 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 



Ill this restricted distribution the present bird is a companion of the 

 Melospiza melodia, var. hcermanni, and the characteristics of form are the 

 same in both as compared with their Middle Province and Northern repre- 

 sentatives ; while they both differ from the latter (townsendi of Passerella, and 

 Tufina of Melospiza) in purer, lighter, and less brown colors. 



Habits. Dr. Cooper met with several individuals of this bird towards the 

 summits of the Sierra Nevada, in September, 1863, but was unable to preserve 

 any of them. So far as he was able to observe them, they had no song, and 

 their habits were generally similar to those of the P. townsendi. 



The Thick-billed Sparrow was found by Mr. Ridgway as a very common 

 bird among the alder swamj)s in the ravines of the eastern slope of the Sierra 

 Nevada during the summer. Near Carson City, April 25, in a swampy 

 thicket near the streams in the level slopes, he heard, for the first time, its 

 beautiful song, and killed a specimen in the midst of its utterance of what, 

 he adds, was one of the most exquisitely rich utterances he ever heard. 

 This song, he states, resembles, in richness and volume, that of the Louisi- 

 ana Water Thrush {Semrus ludovicianus), qualities in which that bird is 

 hardly equalled by any other North American bird. They were singing 

 in all parts of that swampy thicket, and up the ravines as far as the snow. 

 From the nature of the place and the character of their song, they were 

 at first supposed to be the Water Thrush, until specimens of these ex- 

 quisite songsters were secured. He regards this bird as second to none of 

 our singers belonging to this family, and though in variety, sprightliness, 

 and continuity, and also in passionate emotional character, its song is not 

 equal to that of the Chondestcs grainmaca, yet it is far superior in power and 

 richness of tone. Mr. Ridgway regards this bird as easily distinguishable 

 from the P. schistacca, of which, however, it is only a variety. There is a 

 total discrepancy in its notes, and while neither species is resident in the 

 latitude of Carson City, througli which both kinds pass in their migrations, 

 the P. scJiistacea lingers in the spring only a short time, soon passing to the 

 northward, while the P. megarhynchus arrives later and remains through the 

 summer. The former makes its temporary abode among the willows along 

 the river, while the latter breeds in the shrubbery of the mountain ravines. 



Subfamily SPIZIN^. 



Char. Bill variable, always large, much arched, and with the culmen considerably 

 curved ; sometimes of enormous size, and with a greater development backward of the 

 lower jaw, which is always appreciably, sometimes considerably, broader behind than the 

 upper jaw at its base ; nostrils exposed. Tail rather variable. Bill generally black, light 

 blue, or red. Wings shorter than in the first group. Gape almost always much more 

 strongly bristled. Few of the species sparrow-like or plain in their appearance ; usually 

 blue, red, or black and white ; except in one or two instances the sexes very different in 

 color. 



