FRINGILLID.E — THE FINCHES. 265 



"This genus embraces some of the most beautiful of x\meriean 

 Sparrows, all of the largest s'ze in their subfamily. 



"All the species properly belouging to this genus are North Amer- 

 ican ; several South American species have, however, been assigned 

 to it ; but they are none of them strictly congeneric with those 

 given below." {Hist. X. Avt. B.) 



Several Neotropical FrinyilUdte have l)een referred to Zonotrichia, 

 but none of them are strictly congeneric with the North American 

 species, which together constitute a very distinctly circumscribed 

 group. Z. qiiinquestriata ScL. & Salv. and Z. mijstacalis Hartl. are 

 apparently referable to Aiiiphispiza Coves, of which the Emberiza 

 bilineata Cassiv is typical, though they may possibly constitute a 

 generic or subgeneric group by themselves ; wliile Z. pilentn (Bodd.), 

 a species distributed extensively over Central and South America, 

 comes nearer the genus Pi/niisoma. 



This species of Zonotrichia (as properly restricted) may be distin- 

 guished as follows: 



A. Xo yelluw supraloral spot, and throat not abruptly white. 



a. Crown black, without lighter median stripe, but sometimes squamated with palo 

 or dull whitish. 



1. Z.querula. Adult: Crown, lores, chin, and throat, uniform deep blaek; beneath 

 pure white, the sides striped with blaek; sides of head gray; backlight gray- 

 ish brown, streaked with brownish blaek. I'oiDig, first winter: Crown blaek. 

 the feathers bordered with pale grayish brown, producing a scaled appearance ; 

 throat white, bordered on e.ach side with a dusky streak; a blackish patch, or 

 cluster of spots, on the jugulum: sides of head and neck buffy. 



6. Crown black or brown, divided by a white, buff or yello%vish stripe. 

 § Median stripe of crown white (in adultl or buff (in young). 



2. Z, leucophrys. Lores black or brown. Adult: Head-stripes black (one on each 

 side of crown and one behind the eye) and white (one on middle of crown and 

 one over the ear-coverts). Back light ash-gray, streaked with chestnut-brown ; 

 edge of wing white, breast clear light ash-gray. Young, first winter: Head- 

 stripes chestnut-brown and dull buff; otherwise similar to adult. Toung, first 

 plumage: Crown dusky blackish on sides, the middle whitish streaked with 

 lUisky ; throat and breast more or less streaked with dusky. 



3. Z. gambeli.' Pattern of coloration exactly as in leucoplirys, except that the 

 lores are grayish white, or (in young) grayish buff, confluent with the light 

 superciliary stripe. Median stripe of crown grayish white, much narrower 

 than lateral black stripes; back olive-brownish, streaked with brownish black; 

 edge of wing yellowish; whole throat, foreneck, etc.. dingy gray. 



4. Z. intermedia. Similar to Z. aauifte?/, but median stripe of crown pure white, 

 wide as orwiderthan black lateriilstripes; back ashy, streaked withchesnut- 

 brown; edge of wing white; throat, etc., pale ashy. (Colors exactly as in leu- 

 cophrys, except as to the lores, which are grayish white instead of black.) 



•Confined to the Pacific Coast. 



