PASSERES— FRINGILLIDAE— p. BELLI VAR. NEVADENSIS. 275 



and composed of coarse stiff grasses lined inside with very fine grass, 

 hempen material, and very often a few horse hairs. July 24, several nests 

 examined contained newly hatched yovmg, while one contained three fresh 

 eggs. These are rounded oval in shape ; in color a faint bluish wliite, with- 

 out spots, and measure 0.73 by 0.57, 0.73 by 0.58, 0.72 by 0.58. In the fall, 

 they collect together in large flocks, and, with several other species, frequent 

 the thickets, and seem to become more arboreal in habits than earlier in the 

 season. The mesquite groves in Southern Arizona were in August fairly 

 alive with sparrows, and, with perhaps the exception of the Chipping Spar- 

 rows (var. arizoncB), this was the most numerously represented species. 



POOSPIZA BELLI (Cass.), var. NEVADENSIS, Ridg. 

 Arteiuisia ISparrofv. 



Plate XI. 



Poospisa belli vaT.nevadensis, KiDG., Rep. Birds 40th parallel (in jiress). — Bd., Brew., &' 

 RiDG., N. A. Birds, 1874, 594.— Yarrow & Henshaw, Rep. Oni. Specs:, 1872, 

 Wheeler's Exped., 1874, 14. — Henshaw, An. Lye. Nat. Hist. N. Y., xi, 

 1874, G.—Id., An. List Birds Utah, 1872, Wheeler's Exped., 1874, 44.— 

 Id., Rep. Orn. Specs., 1873, Wheeler's Exped., 1874, 115. 



Poospiza belli, Kennerly, P. R. R. Rep., Whipple's Route, 1859, 29 (Little Colorado ; 

 New Mexico).— HENRY,»Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1859, 107 (New Mex- 

 ico).— CoUES, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1806,80 (Fort Whipple, Ariz.).— 

 Allen, Bull. Mus. Comp. Z06I., 1872, 117 (Ogden, Utah).— Coues, Key 

 N, A. Birds, 1872, 141. 



Amphispisa bellii var. nevadensis, CoUES, TJ. S. Geol. Surv. Terr., 1874, 2.34. 



This is a well marked race, differing from the true helli in larger size, 

 paler coloration, and distinct streaks on the back. These are usually 

 entirely wanting in the typical belli, which is restricted in its range to Cali- 

 fornia. Comparative measurements of the two races are appended. 



