INTRODUCTION. 13 



inflexed; palate vaulted and without knob; nostrils 

 concealed by sparse, short, incumbent feathers ; sides of 

 bill provided with stiff, appressed bristles. Tarsi short 

 and stout, and never exceeding middle toes ; claws short, 

 stout, and much curved. Wings somewhat pointed, and 

 longer than the tail, which is nearly even, emarginated, 

 and but moderately rounded. 



Pyrgita domestica, Cuv. The House Sparrow. 



Sp. Char. Male: Upper parts chestnut-brown ; summit 

 of caput and nape, lower back, rump and tail coverts 

 cinereous ; interscapular feathers, on inner webs, streaked 

 with black ; chin, throat, lores, and narrow frontal line 

 black ; residue of inferior parts grayish, passing into 

 white along the middle region. Behind the eye, run- 

 ning into the chestnut of the back, is a broad concolorous 

 band ; cheeks and lateral walls of neck white. Exterior 

 of closed wings chestnut-brown, with the middle coverts 

 marked with a broad white band ; lesser coverts dark 

 chestnut. Tail dark brown, bordered with pale chest- 

 nut. Mandibles black ; feet reddish ; iris brown. 



Female: Duller colored and wanting the black of 

 throat and face. Cheek cinereous; the eyes marked 

 above and posteriorly by a yellow-ochre band. A similar 

 colored band crosses the wings. Head and neck above 

 ashy, tinged with brown ; body superiorly, reddish cine- 

 reous, with longitudinal black streaks ; breast and ab- 

 domen reddish -ash. 



Length, 6.00; wing, 2.84; tail, 2.50; tarsus, .70; 

 middle toe and claw, .60. 



