524 NUliTII AMERICAN lURDS. 



seasuii, to tlie noitlieni Itoundiiiy of tlie rnittMl States. It was first disfov- 

 eiv<l by Captain Maccown, who obtained it in Texas, wlii'ie he found it 

 in company with a flock of Shore Liirks, and where it winters in con-^ider- 

 able numbers. ^Ir. Dresser afterward met with it in small Hocks, early in 

 Ai»ril, on the prairies near San Antonio. It was not very common, and ho 

 was only able to obtain two specimens during his stay in that section. 



Dr. Heermann found this si)ecies congregated in large Hocks, in company 

 with the lUack-shouldered Hunting. They were engaged in gleaning the 

 seeds from the scanty urass, on the vast arid ])lains of New Mexico. Insects 

 and berries formed also a part of their food ; in search of these they showed 

 great activity, running about with celerity and ease. In the spring, large 

 flocks were seen at Fort Thorn, having migrated thither from the Xorth 

 the previous fall. With the return of mild weather they again departed 

 for the North for the purposes of incubation. Among these large Hocks Dr. 

 Heermann noticed also the Shore Lark, but they formed only a small pro- 

 portion of the whole nundjer. 



In a letter to ^Ir. Cassin, Dr. Heermann states that he found this species 

 congregated with large numbers of other l»irds about the isolated water-holes 

 in the barren i)lains t>f New Mexico. 



Mr. J. A. ^Vllen states (Am. Nat., May, 1872) that, during a few weeks' stay 

 near Fort Hays in midwinter, he found Maccown's Longspur tolerably fre- 

 quent in that vicinity. 



An egg of this species, in the collection of the late Dr. Henry Bryant, 

 measures .80 by .G() of an inch. Its ground-color is a light bluish clay-color, 

 marbled, dotted, blotched, and lined with light neutral tints of lavender and 

 darker markings of purplish and reddish brcnvn. The nest was placed on 

 the ground, and is composed entirely of coarse grass-stems (No. :^,521, J. 

 Pearsall, Fort lienton). 



SiRiAMiiY PYRGITINiB. 



The introduction into the Ignited States, at so many distant points, of the 

 European House S])arrow (Pi/rt/ita domc'^fica) renders it necessary to intro- 

 duce it with any work treating of the birds of North America, although 

 totally different in so many features from our own native forms. I fol- 

 low Degland and (Jerbe in placing the genus J\i/r(/if(( in a se|)arate sub- 

 family {Purtjitimr, see ])age 44()), without any distinct idea of its true 

 alhnities, as it does not come legitimately witiiin any of the sul)families 

 estal)lished for the American genera. In some res])ects similar to certain 

 Coecothrausfino', in the short tarsi and covered nostrils, tlie wings are shorter 

 and more rounded, the sides of the bill with stiff bristh^s, etc. The nnich 

 larger, more vaulted bill, weaker feet, and covered nostrils, distinguish it from 

 Spizellinm. 



