146 FRINGILLID®, FINCHES, ETC.—GEN, (53 46. 
75. Genus CHONDESTES Swainson. 
Lark Finch. Head curiously variegated with chestnut, black and white ; 
crown chestnut blackening on forehead, divided by a median stripe, and 
bounded by superciliary stripes, of white; a black line through eye, and 
another below eye, enclosing a white streak under the eye and the chestnut 
auriculars ; next, a sharp black maxillary stripe 
not quite reaching the bill, cutting off a white 
stripe from the white chin and throat. A black 
blotch on middle of breast. Under parts white, 
faintly shaded with grayish-brown ; upper parts 
grayish-brown, the middle of the back with fine 
black streaks. Tail very long, its central feathers 
like the back, the rest jet-black, broadly tipped 
with pure white in diminishing amount from the 
lateral pair inward, and the outer web of the 
outer pair entirely white ; 63-7; wing 34, pointed; tail 3, rounded. A 
beautiful species, abundant from the eastern edge of the prairies to the 
Pacific; the young differ somewhat, particularly about the head, but the bird 
is unmistakable in any plumage ; the coloration of the tail alone is diagnostic. 
A sweet songster; nest on the ground, of dried grass; eggs 4-5, white, 
with straggling zigzag dark lines, as in many Icteride. Aup., iii, 63, pl. 
158; Nurr., i, 480; Bp., 456 ;3"Coor:, 198... >». > & « GRANITAGAM 
Fie. 90. Lark Finch. 
76. Genus PASSER Auctorum. 
English Sparrow. Bill shaped much as in the purple finch, with a slight 
basal ruff; tarsus as long as the middle toe; wings pointed; tail forked a 
little, 2 as long as the wing. g ,above, reddish-brown, the back black-streaked, 
the crown and under parts brownish-ash, the chin and throat black; 9? lack- 
ing the latter marks. A species lately imported from Europe, now 
thoroughly naturalized, and already abundant in many towns and cities of 
the Eastern and Middle States, though not yet generally dispersed over the 
country. It has also been recently introduced into Salt Lake City, where it 
seems to thrive equally well. It has proved highly beneficial by destroying 
canker-worms, the pest of our shade trees, and our dusty streets are enlivened 
with its presence ; but if it continues to multiply at the present rate, it must 
soon overflow municipal limits, and then the results of the contact of this 
hardy foreigner with our native birds may cause us to regret its introduction, 
unless it finds natural enemies to check its increase. Lawr., Ann. Lye. Nat. 
Hist. N. Y. viii, 1866, 287; Proc. Bost. Soe. 1867, 157; 1868, 389 ; 
Covers, Proc. Essex Inst. 1868, 283; Atten, Am. Nat. iii, 635; Exxior, 
ra PMR Wace Vs ae MRM MRSC Te 
Ozs. Two other European finches, the Goldfinch, Carduelis elegans, and the 
Serin finch, Serinus meridionalis, ave reported from Massachusetts, but believed 
to have been escaped cage-birds. Anien, Am. Nat. iii, 635. 
