552 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 



the C. 'passcrimis. Their ground-color is a clear bright wliite, and they are 

 spotted with well-defined reddish-brown markings, and more subdued tints 

 of purple. The markings, so far as I have seen their eggs, are finer and 

 fewer than those of C. passer vmis,din^ are distributed more exclusively around 

 the larger end. The eggs measure .78 by .60 of an inch, and are of a more 

 obloncj-oval than those of the common Yellow-Wing. 



Coturniculus lecontei, Bonap. 



LECONTE'S BUNTING. 



Emheriza lecontei, Aud. Birds Am. VII, 1843, 338, pi. ccccl.xxxviii. —Max. Cah. Jour. VI, 

 1858, 340. Coturniculus lecontei, Bon. Conspectus, 1850, 481. — B.A.IKD, Birds N. Am. 

 1858, 4.52. 



Sp. Char. Bill much more .slender than in C- henslowi. First quill the longest, the rest 

 diminishing rapidl3^ Tail eraarginate and rounded, with the feathers acute. Upper parts 

 light yellowish-red, streaked with brownish-black ; the margins of the feathers and 

 scapulars pale yellowish-white. Tail-feathers dusky, margined with light-yellowish. 

 Lower parts, with the cheeks and a broad band over the eyes, fine buff. Medial line 

 yellowish anteriorly, nearly white behind. The buff extending to the femorals and along 

 the sides, streaked with brownish-black. Throat, neck, and upper parts of the breast, 

 without any streaks, and plain buff. Length, 4.40 ; wing, 2.13 ; bill along ridge, .37 ; 

 edge. .50. Legs flesh-color ; bill dark blue. 



Hab. Mouth of Yellowstone, to Texas. 



Since the regret expressed in the Birds of North America (1858) at the 

 loss of the single specimen known of this species, another has been received 

 by the Smithsonian Institution from Washington Co., Texas, collected by 

 Dr. Lincecum. It is in very poor condition, having been skinned for an 

 alcoholic preparation, and does not admit of a satisfactory description of the 

 colors. In its unspotted breast, the rufous feathers of the hind neck, the 

 absence of maxillary stripes, and apparently in the markings of the wings, it 

 is most like C. passerimts. Although the inner tail-feathers have the narrow 

 stripe of hensloivi, the bill is much smaller, as stated by Audubon, than in 

 the others, and is apparently bluish, not yellow. The vertical stripe is 

 deep buff anteriorly, and pale ashy posteriorly, instead of buff throughout, 

 and the superciliary stripe is continuously buff, instead of yellow anterior to, 

 and ashy behind, the eye. In the comparative length of wing and tail, it is 

 most nearly related to henslowi, but the bill is very nuich narrower than in 

 either. Upon the whole, there can be no doubt of its actual specific distinct- 

 ness from both its allies. 



Habits. Leconte's Sharp-tailed Sparrow was procured by Audubon in 

 his expedition to the Yellowstone. He speaks of its having very curious 

 notes, which he describes as of a sharp, querulous nature, and a general habit 

 of keeping only among the long, slender green grasses that here and there 

 grew up in patches along the margins of the creeks. So closely did it keep 



