60 



NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 



Spermophila. Bill very short and broad, scarcely longer than high, 

 not compressed ; culmen greatly curved. Color : chiefly black and 

 white, or brow^n and gray. 



Phonipara. Bill more triangular, decidedly longer than deep, much 

 compressed ; culmen only slightly curved, or perfectly straight. Colors: 

 dull olive-green and blackish, w^ith or without yellow about the head. 

 C Wing much shorter than the tail. 



a, Head crested. Prevailing color red. Bill red or whitish. 



Pyrrhuloxia. Bill pyrrhuline, very short, and with the culmen greatly 

 convex; shorter than high. Hind claw less than its digit; not much 

 larger than the middle anterior one. Tarsus equal to the middle toe. 

 Nest in bush or low tree ; eggs white, spotted with lilac and olive. 

 Cardinalis. Bill coccothraustine, very large ; culmen very slightly 

 convex. Wings more rounded. Feet as in the last, except that the 

 tarsus is longer than the middle toe. Nest in bush or low tree ; eggs 

 white, spotted with lilac and olive. 



h. Head not crested. Colors black, brown, or olive, without red. Bill dusky, 



or bluish. 



Pipilo. Bill moderate ; culmen and commissure curved. Hind claw 

 very large and strong ; longer than its digit. Tarsus less than the 

 middle toe. Nest on ground or in low bush; eggs white sprinkled with 

 red, or pale blue, with black dots and lines round larger end. 



Genus CALAMOSPIZA, Bonap. 



Calamospiza, Bonap. List, 1838. (Type, Fringilla bicolor. Towns.) 

 Corydalina, Audubon, Synopsis, 1839. (Same type.) 



Gen. Char. Bill rather large, much swollen at the base ; the culmen broad, gently but 



decidedly curved ; the gonys nearly 



straight ; the commissure much 

 angulated near the base, then 

 slightly sinuated; lower mandible 

 nearly as deep as the upper, the 

 margins much inflected, and shut- 

 ting under the upper mandible. 

 Nostrils small, strictly basal. Rictus 

 quite stiffly bristly. Legs large and 

 stout. Tarsi a little longer than 

 the middle toe ; outer toe rather 

 longer than the inner, and reaching 

 to the concealed base of the mid- 

 dle claw ; hind toe reaching to the 

 base of the middle claw ; hind claw 

 about as long as its toe. Claws all strong, compressed, and considerably curved. Wings 

 long and pointed ; the first four nearly equal, and abruptly longest ; the tertials much 

 elongated, as long as the primaries. Tail a little shorter than the wings, slightly gradu- 

 ated ,• the feathers rather narrow and obliquely oval, rounded at the end. 



Color. Male, black, with white on the wings. Femah, brown above, beneath white, 

 with streaks. 



Calmnospiza bicolor. 



