208 VERTEBRATES: BIRDS. 



ciliary stripe is bright yellow anterior to the eye, the re- 

 mainder plumbeous ; the edge of the wing yellow, and the 

 bill blue. This bird may be seen, at any hour of the day 

 during spring and early summer, upon the tops of tall 

 plants that grow by the margin of tide-water, there ut- 

 tering the few notes that compose its song. The nest is 

 made of coarse grass without and fine within ; eggs four 

 to six, grayish white freckled with brown. 



Samuel's Finch, A. Samuelis, Baird, of California, is 

 five inches long, the wing less than two and a quarter 

 inches. 



The Genus Chondestes comprises the Lark Finch, C. 

 grammaca, Bonap., from the Mississippi Valley to the 

 Pacific coast. It is six inches long, the wing about 

 three and one third inches ; the upper parts grayish 

 brown, the hood chestnut with a median and superciliary 

 stripe of dingy white ; the under parts white ; a round 

 spot on the breast, a maxillary stripe, and a short line 

 from the bill to the eye, black. The tail is dark brown, 

 broadly tipped with white. 



The Genus Zonotrichia has the bill conical and slightly 

 notched, wings not reaching to the middle of the moder- 

 ately-rounded tail, the second and third quills longest, 

 tarsus longer than the middle toe, lateral toes about equal, 

 the hind toe longer than the lateral ones, the claws of 

 the latter just reaching to the base of the middle one. 



The White-crowned Sparrow, Z. lencophrys, Sw., of the 

 United States east of the Rocky Mountains, is over seven 

 inches long, the wing three and a quarter inches ; the 

 head above, the upper half of the loral region, and a line 

 through and behind the eye, black ; a longitudinal patch 

 upon the crown, and a line from above the anterior cor- 

 ner of the eye, the two coming together on the occiput, 

 white. Its song consists of six or seven notes, rather 

 plaintive, the first of which is loud, clear, and sweet, the 



