32. 
61. 
FRINGILLIDA:: FINCHES, BUNTINGS, SPARROWS, ETC. 377 
mandible sometimes yellowish. Decidedly larger than belli proper, though so little different in 
color; wing and tail fully 3.00, if not more; bill 0.35; tarsus 0.75. Southern Rocky Mt. 
region, N. to 40° and beyond, resident; abounding in the sage-brush deserts of Nevada, 
Utah, New Mexico and Arizona. Nesting as in P. belli; eggs 0.80 x 0.60, pale greenish, pro- 
fusely speckled with reddish-brown and blackish-brown, with purplish shell-markings. 
JUN'CO. (? Lat. juncus, a reed.) SNow SPARROWS. SNOW-BIRDS. Bill small, strictly 
conic. Wings rather long, the primaries much surpassing the short inner secondaries in the 
closed wing; usually 2d, 3d, and 4th quills longest, 5th little shorter, then Ist and 6th. Tarsus 
a little longer than middle toe and claw; lateral toes subequal, their claws about reaching base 
of middle claw. Tail about as long as wings, slightly emarginate or about even, of rather 
narrow but firm feathers, rounded oval at ends. A beautiful genus; adults unspotted, 
unstreaked, the colors massed in large definite areas ; belly, crissum, and 2-3 lateral tail-feathers 
white ; bill whitish, or black and yellow. Length 6 or 7 inches; wing and tail about 3 inches. 
Sexes subsimilar, but ¢ clearer and purer in coloration; young entirely different, quite streaky. 
Nest on the ground; eggs speckled. One common Eastern species; in the West the Junco 
stock split into numerous forms, all of which intergrade with each other, and with the Eastern 
bird. Almost all late writers have taken a hand at Junco, shuffling them about in qhe vain 
attempt to decide which are “species” and which “ varieties.” All are either, or both, as we 
may elect to consider them ; for the degree of difference between almost any two of the nearest 
related ones is about the same. The distinctions between the typical styles of each are very 
nice and easily perceived. The theory of hybridization advanced to account for the connecting 
links simply restates without explaining the case ; for interbreeding is just one of the conditions 
of intergraded species, keeping them from positive distinctness. Upon this understanding the 
recognizable styles of Jwnco may all be treated alike. Adult male birds of the several forms 
afford the following 
Analysis of Species or Subspecies. 
Bill flesh-color. 
Blackish-ash, without reddish tints; sides ashy. 
IN OnyNEOR WAN O=DATS) ayo. hl Ponts: whe stack bce WH get Ys) Wer ye so ar tems fis aos ene . . hiemalis 261 
Two white wing-bars .. . GP OT ED. Odie tt one th ee Eee maine, unica, F162 
(mixed characters of first a Hee. re nite wal esis, us) vole eon COMMECEOCILGEE COLO, 
Sooty-black on head and breast; back reddish; She: pinkish Bue Se eo nN aera ts} 
(mixed characters of lastand next. . . . ELEM CN “ayy eV ESSSe toni Yoder QTE CLeNS eee 
Ashy on head and breast; interscapulars alone redaicl eB yst ay bre euwe! Mis} sci ty Fe), ey ne eCOLICE DI Sm ates 
Bill black and yellow. 
(mixed characters of last and next. .. . yea ye, Ue tteMicthcey war CLOrsalisma2oG 
Ashy on head and breast; interscapulars and Shp radish, Semon aC =| sm ai CUREREILS e260 
Setting aside aikenit as a special offshoot, we have hiemalis connected with oregonus by 
birds possessing pink sides and ashy back, or reddish back and ashy sides; this style may be 
named connectens. Similarly, oregonus and caniceps are annexed by gray-headed red-backed 
birds with pink sides; this is anmectens. And again, but more remarkably, the pink-billed 
caniceps is affixed with the black-and-yellow-billed cinereus by dorsalis, which has the bill of 
the latter, but otherwise resembles the former. 
J. hiema/lis. (Lat. hiemalis, wintry ; hiems, winter. Fig. 236.) EASTERN SNOW-BIRD. 
BLAcK SNOW-BIRD. Blackish-ash, below abruptly pure white from the breast, the sides shaded 
with ashy. Inthe 2, and most fall and winter specimens, the upper parts have a more grayish, 
or even a decidedly brownish, cast, and the inner secondaries are edged with pale bay. @, in full 
dress: The slaty-black intense on the head; belly and crissum pure white, the line between 
the two transverse or convex forward; wings and tail blackish, with slightly hoary edging of 
some ofthe feathers ; 2-3 lateral tail feathers pure white, wholly or in greatest part. No rusty- 
brown on back or sides; any shade on the sides ashy, not pinkish. Bill pinkish-white, or 
flesh-color, usually black-tipped. Length 6.00-6.50 ; extent 9.50-10.00 ; wing 3.00-3.25; tail 
rather less. These extremes uncommon; average 6.25—9.75—3.10. 9, in summer: The 
