P ASSERES — FRINGILLIDiE — PLECTROPHANES. 177 



GENUS PLECTROPHANES. Meyer. 



Bill short, somewhat compressed, robust : edges of the mandibles not notched. Roof of the 

 mouth concave, with three prominent lines, of which the middle is elevated into an oblong 

 tubercle. First or second primaries longest. Hind nail very long, and almost straight. 

 Tail rather long, emarginate. 



THE LAPLAND SNOW-BIRD. 



PLECTROPHANES LAPPONICUS. 

 PLATE LXIX. FIG. 159. 



(STATE COLLECTION.) 



Frmgilla lapponica. Li.nn.ecs, Syst. Nat. 12 ed. p. 317. Pennant, Arct. Zool. Vol. 2, p. 377. 



Plectrophanes calcaratus, Mover. E. id. Rich. Parry's Second Voyage. 



E. (Plectrophanes) lapponica. Bonaparte, Ann. Lye. N. Y. Vol. 2, p. 440. Id. Am. Orn. Vol. 2, p. 53, pi. 



13, fig. 1 (male); fig. 2 (female). Audubon, fol. pi. 365. Nuttall, Man. 



Orn. Vol. 1, p. 463. Brewer, Synopsis, p. 706. 

 Plectrophanes id. Aftdubon, B. of A. Vol. 3, p. 50, pi. 152. 

 P. id., Lapland Lark Bunting. Giraud, Birds of Long island, p. 90. 



Characteristics. Spring plumage. Head, chin and breast black ; beneath white : a white 

 line over the eye. Quills black : two outer tail-feathers black, with a 

 white spot near the tip. Winter. Upper part of the head black, edged 

 with rufous : neck black ; the feathers tipped with white. Female, 

 rufous grey above ; beneath white. Length, 6^ inches. 



Description. First quill longest. Tail deeply emarginate and rounded. Tail-feathers 

 acuminate, and 0*8 longer than the tips of the closed wings. 



Color. This varies with the season. In its winter dress, in which only we are enabled to 

 see it, it is rufous brown above, striated with black. Quill-feathers blackish brown, with 

 lighi rufous on the outer webs. A patch behind and beneath the eye, rufous, margined with 

 blackish. Throat and breast obsoletely spotted with black beneath. Flanks whitish grey, 

 with oblong rufous spots. Female, scarcely differs, except in the spot behind the eye being 

 less obvious ; the breast also is slightly darker. 



Length, 6'5-7-0. Alar spread, 12-0. 



This rare arctic bird is not an unfrequent visiter to this State, during the extreme cold of 

 winter. In the winter of 1838, numbers were seen in the markets of New-York, having 

 been shot on Long island. Mr. Audubon has indeed observed them in Kentucky and Mis- 

 souri, but this must of course have been very rare. Feed on seeds and berries. Their nest 

 is placed on the ground ; the eggs, from five to seven, are pale yellow, spotted with brown. 

 It lives habitually in the arctic regions of both continents, and has been observed as far north 

 as the 74th parallel of latitude. 



[Fauna — Part 2.] 23 



