FINCHES, SPARROWS, ETC. 325 



GENUS PASSERINA. 



534. Passerina nivalis (Linn.). SNOWFLAKE. 



Under mandible thicker than upper, gonys very short, nostrils concealed 

 by plumules ; wing 1 nearly five times as long as tarsus ; tail emarginate, 

 about two thirds hidden by coverts ; hind claw about as long as its toe, 

 curved. Adult male in summer : white, with black on bill, middle of back, 

 scapulars, greater part of primaries, 

 and four to six middle tail feathers. 

 Adult male in winter : washed with rusty 

 on upper parts, sides of head, and chest ; 

 bill yellow, with dusky tip. Adult fe- Fig. 412. 



male in summer: upper parts broadly 



streaked with black ; wing and tail with black of male replaced by black- 

 ish brown ; wing with much less white. Adult female in winter : like sum- 

 mer female, but upper parts more or less stained with rusty brown and 

 feathers of back more edged with buff y. Young : under parts dull whit- 

 ish ; upper parts gray ; wings and tail mainly dusky and brown ; white of 

 wing much restricted. Male: length (skins) 5.85-7.21, wing 4.19-4.58, 

 tail 2.40-2.91, bill .3S-.45. Female: length (skins) 5.95-6.62, wing 3.90- 

 4.10, tail 2.39-2.62, bill .3S-.43. 



Remarks. The September birds may be distinguished by feathers of 

 head, nape, and rump, which are basally white in the male, basally black 

 in the female. 



Distribution. Breeds in the arctic regions of the northern hemisphere ; 

 in North America south in winter to the northern United States, irregu- 

 larly to Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Colorado, and Oregon. 



Nest. On ground, composed of dried grasses, lined with finer grasses 

 and feathers. Eggs: usually 5, whitish, varying from dull purplish to 

 greenish, speckled chiefly on larger end with shades of brown, usually 

 with a few small black markings. 



Food. Largely weed seed, grass seed, and refuse grain in winter, and 

 small crustaceans, mollusks, insects, and seeds in summer. 



" The snowflake is a well known summer bird in all the circum- 

 polar regions, and none of the various arctic expeditions have ex- 

 tended their explorations beyond the points where this handsome 

 species is found. It chooses indifferently the bleak shores of the 

 arctic islands encircled by an icy sea, or the warmer shores to the 

 south as far as the Aleutian Islands, and nearly as far on the 

 opposite Siberian shore of Bering Sea. Although it rears its young 

 far from the usual haunts of man, it passes to the south and is one 

 of the most familiar and well-known birds through the northern 

 states." (Nelson.) 



GENUS CALCABIUS. 



General Characters. Bill small, acutely conical, deeper than broad at 

 base ; nostrils exposed ; wing long, pointed ; tail more than half hidden 

 by pointed upper coverts ; hind claw about length of its toe, slender, and 

 nearly straight. 



