288 Phillips, Birds of Sin it. [july 



birds. Wing, 74-78. Ear coverts mostly pure white like the sparrow of 

 Asia Minor. 



Larger series are necessary to clear up the disputed points. 



Passer hispaniolensis transcaspicus Tschusi. Spanish Sparrow. — 

 Six; Wady Gharandel, Sinai, March 26; Feran, March 31; Mt. Hermon 

 region, Syria, May 22-25. 



Passer maobiticus maobiticus Tristr. Dead Sea Sparrow. — One 

 (sex?) ; mouth of Wady Kerak, May 8. I think this specimen comes from 

 a region a little north of the known range of this sparrow. Wady Safye 

 is the nearest point south, where it has been taken. I saw only this one 

 bird in the cane jungles at the edge of the sea; there may have been many 

 more sparrows in this cane, however, as the jungle is almost impenetrable 

 at this point. 



Serinus syriacus Bp. Syrian Canary. One cf; Ammik, Syria, 

 June 7. 



Carpodacus synoicus (Temm.). Sinai Rose Finch. — Seven; Pass 

 of Hawa, Sinai, April 3; Petra, April 27-29. 



This species does not appear to have been taken outside of the Sinai 

 Peninsula before; but I found it common at Petra and secured five speci- 

 mens there. These birds are smaller than Sinai specimens. Wing, 81 to 

 84 mm.; exposed culmen, 9 to 9.5; tarsus, 19; tail, 65-69. 



Temminck's type was taken near " Mt. Sinai " and was presumably 

 drawn to scale (Temm. PI. Col. 375). The wing on the plate measures 

 87 mm. Hartert gives the wing of this species as 86-89. The wings of 

 my Sinai adults are 85 mm. I therefore propose the name of 



Carpodacus synoicus petrae, sub. spec. nov. 



for the northern birds, separated as they are from] Sinai, by the great low 

 desert of the Arabah. 



Type, d 1 No. 66024, Mus. Comp. Zool., collected at Petra, southern 

 Palestine, April 28, 1914, by J. C. Phillips. 



Characters. Like C. s. synoica (Temm.) but smaller, especially in the 

 wing and bill. Wing, 84 mm. or under; bill shorter and narrower; exposed 

 culmen, 9-9.5; tarsus, 19 mm. Rosy parts of the plumage slightly paler 

 and more pinkish. 



I am somewhat in doubt about the plumage of the adult females in these 

 two forms. It has always been given as plain brown, like the young males, 

 but I carefully sexed one of my adult rosey specimens as a female. The 

 proportion of rosy birds as I saw them in the wild was rather too large for 

 the supposition that only old second year males attain this plumage. 



Emberiza hortulana. Ortolan Bunting. — Four; Akaba, April 15- 

 18; Ain Abu-Heran, April 23; Petra, April 29. 



Emberiza caesiaCretzschm. Cretzschmars Bunting. — Three; Syria,. 

 May 27-30. 



Emberiza melanocephala Scop. Black-headed Bunting. — Eleven;. 

 Mt. Hermon region, Syria, May 27, June 7. 



