532 



XOUTTT AMtlUCAN nTRD.^. 



servi'tl as tin* l»asis of all the dose riptiinis n\' tlio spfcii'S wliicli is Justly 

 considt'ivtl (niu <»t till' raifsl in tii«* Xnitii Anit'iicaii lauiia, 



Hai'.its. In n*n;anl to tiii' liahits, (listiiimtioii, or ^ji'iicral history ot" this 

 vtMV rare sjn'cit's, hut little is kiKiwii, only one specinicn havinLj hctMi nu't 

 with. This was |»ioi'ui(mI hy Mr. Auduhon s party to the Vcllowstom* Kivor, 

 in Dakota, on tlu; last day of July, 1S4.1. That it is a rcsidt'iit whert; oh- 

 tained, certainly during the hreeilinn-season, is a natural inl'crenee t'roni the 

 circ'unistances of its {•a])ture. That it may Ik' a eoiunion bird in certain 

 other ])ortions of the rt'Liion, immediately north of Dakota, is cjuite prohahle. 

 Its clo.se hahits, as descril'ed l>y Mr. Auduhon, favor its cscajtin^ noti<e wher- 

 ever it may exist. 



The specimen was met with in a wet place, over«;rown clos<»ly hy a kin<l 

 of .slender rush-like ^^rass, from the midst of which the notes of these birds 

 were heard, and at first mistaken for thos<^ of the Marsh Wren. A search 

 was innuediately instituted for the singers, which Mr. liell soon ascertained 

 could not he the Wren in (juestion, the notes hein^ much softer and more 

 prolonged. Much dilHculty was encountered in the endeavor t(» raise them 

 from the long close grass to which they closely confined themselves, and 

 they were several tini- .-•. nearly trodden on hefore they would take wing, 

 almost instantaneously realighting within a few steps, and running like mice 

 through the grass. After a while two were shot while on the wing, and 

 proved to he adult male and female. The i)arty found this y[)ecies quite 

 abundant in all such situations, and there seems to have been uo doubt t'lat 

 it was breed i nil. 



gexi's passerculus, r..>NAP. 



Passm-Hlits, Bowp. Coinit. List IJinls, 1S38. ^TyiK*, Friiujilhi rnvmnm.) 



Okv. ruAR. Rill moilcratcly conioal ; the lovror rnan«lil)lc smaller; hoth outlines nearly 



stiaiirht. Tardus altout equal to the miildle 

 toe. Lateral toes altout equal, their claws 

 t'allinp: far short of the middle one. ITiiid 

 toe nmeh longer than the lateral ones, reaeh- 

 in_ir as far as the middle of the midtUe elaw ; 

 its claws moderately carved. Winj^s 'inusu- 

 ally lonir, reachinj,'^ to the middle of the tail, 

 and almost to the end of the ui>[)er coverts. 

 The tertials nearly or (juite as long as the 

 primaries; the first jiriinary longest. The 

 tail is quite short, considerably shorter than 

 the wiiiiTs; as long as from the carpal joint 



Passfrrulii.s mvnnnn. " , 



to the end ot" the secondaries. It is emar- 

 ginate, and slightly rounded; the feathers pointe<l and narrow. 



The essential chamcters of this well-marked genus lie in the elongated 

 wings, longer than the tail, the tertiaries eoual to the jnimaries, the first 



