158 XOIITII AMERICAN BIRDS. 



No. 49,0.V>, adult male. Niilato, Yukon Riv»M-, Alaska. Jamiarv 10, 1807. W. H. 

 Dall (No. .').');»). 



Tlie specinieii refon m1 to above is tlie first record of the occurrence in 

 America of a genus heretofore considered as l>eh)nging exchisively to the 

 Old World. 



This bird was described in 1SG9 as a possible variety of P. coccuica of 

 Europe. On snl>niitting the typical s]:eciniens to Mr. H. B. Tristram of 

 England, it was decitled to be a well-marked and distinct species, as ex- 

 plained in the following extract from a letter received from him. 



"The coloration of the back is the same as in males of P. cocci aea and 

 P. rvhiciUo, and ditl'ers from the coloration of the 9 in ^^li three species. In 

 all the 9 has the back l>rown instead of slate-colored. Your bird, however, 

 dilfers I'rom P. cocci net in having the under parts of the same color as the ^^ 

 of P. (jriscin atris with a slightly redder hue on the flanks, while P. coccinca 

 is a lirilliant blazing red. In this your bird is like P. murina of the Azores, 

 but that has no white on the rump. 



" X(jr can it be ^ juv. of P. coccinca, because it has the hJach head, and the 

 young assumes the Idack head and reil breast simultaneously, or rather the 

 red begins first. It ditl'ers from P. iiipalaisis in having a black head and 

 broad white rump, as well as in size." 



Dr. O. Finscli, of Bremen, agrees with Mr. Tristram in considering it as 

 specifically distinct, and says that the long white shaft-streak on the outer- 

 most tail-feather is to be considered as one of the peculiar characters, and 

 that in general it resembles the female of P. grisciccntcis, Lafk., but differs 

 in having the back beautiful ash-gray. 



Habits. This new species of Bullfinch, having a close resemblance to the 

 P. coccinca of Eurojje, was obtained by Mr. Dall, near Xulato, Alaska, January 

 10, 18G7. An Indian brought it in alive, but badly wounded, having shot it 

 from a small tree near the fort. He had never seen anything like it before, 

 nor had any of the llussians. Captain Everett Smith had, however, met with 

 several flocks of the same species near Ulukuk. This specimen was a male, 

 with black eyes, feet, and bill, and was the only bird of the kind met with 

 by Mr. Dall. 



In size it is about equal to P. coccinca, which is now quite generally con- 

 sidered to be simjtly a large racic of the common BuUtinch {P. vulgaris), and 

 the habits of the American bird are doubtless similar to those of its con- 

 geners. The European races inhabit the numntainous regions of Northern 

 and Central Europe, ap])earing in large flocks in December and January in 

 the more southern regions. In their return in spring to their summer quar- 

 ters, they move in smaUer numbers. They nest in the mountain forests, on 

 trees or bushes. Their nest is usually but a few feet from the ground, is 

 beautifully wrought in a cup shape, made externally of small twigs, blades of 

 grass, and rootlets, lined with coarse hair. They lay five eggs, the ground- 

 color of wdiich shades from a light blue to a bluish or a greenish white, with 



