1590 



THE PERCHING BIRDS 



Allied Genera 



the rump chestnut red; the throat white; the neck and chest delicate bluish gray; and 

 the rest of the under parts russet red. The female has the head, nape, and body 

 varied with black and russet; the rump and under tail coverts bright russet; the 

 front of the neck and chest shaded with dull gray and spotted with brown; and the 

 flanks of a deeper russet, and more or less spotted with brown. 



There are several genera more or less closely allied to the true bunt- 

 ings, which can only be incidentally alluded to here. Among these, 

 the crested bunting (Melophus melanideris} , of the Himalayas, Upper India, Burma, 

 and China, is the only representative of a genus characterized by the presence of a 

 crest on the head, which is larger in the male than in the female. The tail is less 

 forked than in the true buntings, and the sexes differ in coloration, although both 

 display a considerable amount of red on the wings and tail. This bunting is soli- 

 tary in its habits, and generally found on rocky hills and the banks of streams. 

 The American bunting (Euspiza americana} represents a second genus, and the 

 Cape bunting (Fringillaria capensis) a third, in which there are several species. 

 The sparrow bunting {Zonotrichia albicollis} , belonging to a group of genera in 

 which the tail is longer than the wing, differs from the true buntings by the ex- 

 posed nostrils, which are protected by an operculum; and is especially characterized 

 by the spotted back and sparrow-like form. The genus, which includes numerous 

 species, is exclusively American. 



