THE HEPBURN LEUCOSTICTE. 77 



liowever, only scanty crnmbs of information liave come to us concerning this 

 most interesting and widely distributed race of Highlanders. 



The Gray-crowned Leucosticte is considered the central figure of the 

 genus, shading^, as it does, into L. citrata of the Bitterroots and L. atistraiis 

 of Colorado, into L. t. littoralis of southern British Columbia, Washington 

 and Oregon, and (perhaps thru littoralis) into griscomicha of the Aleutians. 

 This assumes for the si>ecies a center of distribution in the Rocky Mountains 

 of British Columbia, Alljerta and Saskatcliewan where the bird is known to 

 occur. And so because of the greater severity of the winters in its normal 

 haunts this form is found to be the greatest wanderer of its group, being 

 frequently driven in the fall far out upon the central eastern plains or down 

 the "inside passage" between the Rockies and vSierras. 



It was in this fashion, probably, that a colony of this species became 

 established in the southern Sierras of California, where it now maintains a 

 vigorous existence separated, as we suppose, by at least a thousand miles 

 from the parent stock in British Columbia. 



No. 28. 



HEPBURN'S LEUCOSTICTE. 



A. O. U. Xo. 524a. Leucosticte tephrocotis littoralis (Baird). 



Synonyms. — Rosv Fixcii. Hepburn's Rosy Finch. Bairii's Rosy Finch. 



Description. — Adult male in summer: Forehead and fore-crown black; 

 occiput, broadly, and sides of head, clear ashy gray, color sometimes encroaching 

 on chin and throat ; nasal plumules grayish white : remaining plumage in general 

 chestnut, chocolate, or rich vandyke brown, sharply contrasting with ashy gray on 

 hind-neck and sides of head, inclining to blackish on throat, streaked with dusky 

 on back and with more or less admixture of dusky on feather tips, especially on 

 wings and flanks ; feathers of upper and under tail-coverts, rumj) and flanks 

 broadly and distinctly tii>i)ed with jjink (of variable shade); wings and tail 

 blackish ; lesser and middle ccjvcrts broadly tipped with pink, the greater coverts, 

 primary coverts and part of the flight feathers edged with pink or light carmine; 

 rectrices with more or less edging of pinkish gray or light brown ; bill black; feet 

 and legs black. Adult female: of somewhat paler and duller coloration. Adults 

 in 'iciiiter: Feathers of back and scapulars edged with light brown ; pink edgings 

 of wings, etc., paler, and body i)lumage, especially on breast? with more or less 

 pale skirting; bill yellow with dusky ti]j (this character is assumed as early as 

 September). Length of adult male: 6.15 (156.2); wing 4.00 (101.6); tail 2.60 

 (66) ; bill .43 ( 11,4) ; tarsus .75 (19). 



Recognition Marks. — Sparrow size; plumage warm brown with rosy skirt- 

 ings ; ashy gray on sides of head as distinguished from /,. tephrocotis. 



a. By "shading" here is not mt^ant subsptcific relationship, altho this docs obtain as regarding both 

 griseonucUa and littoralis, but rather suggestive relationship, assumed divergence from a common stock. 



