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GENUS NIPH^A — AUDUBON 



SNOW BIRD. 



[Bill short, rather small, conical, upper mandible a little broader than the 

 lower, its dorsal line straight, slightly declinate at tip ; nostrils basal, roundish, 

 concealed by feathers, tip acute ; head broadly ovate ; neck short ; body full ; 

 feet of moderate length ; tarsi rather short, stout ; toes rather strong — the 

 hind toe stout, lateral equal ; wings rather short, curved, rounded : tail rather 

 long, slightly emarginate.] 



NYPHiEA HYEMALIS— LINN. 



COMMON SNOW BIRD. 



Snow Bird, Fringilla nivalis, Wils. Amer. Orn. 

 Fringilla hyemalis, Bonap. Syn. 

 Fringilla hyemalis, Black Finch, Sw. & Rich. 

 Common Snow Bird, Fringilla Hudsonia, Nutt. Man. 

 Snow Bird, Fringilla hyemalis, Aud. Orn. Biog. 



Specific Character — Head, neck all round, back, fore part of the 

 breast and sides grayish-black ; abdomen white ; wings and tail 

 feathers black, the quills margined externally with dull white ; the 

 outer two tail feathers white — a spot of the same color on the third 

 next to the shaft, extending an inch or more from the end of the 

 inner web. Female with the plumage lighter, tinged with brown 

 on the neck and head. Length six inches and a quarter, wing 

 three and one-eighth. 



About the middle of October these birds appear on Long Island 

 in large flocks. They resort to the open, neglected fields, and are 

 observed along the roadside, feeding on the seeds of various species 

 of rank, uncultivated plants. It is an exceedingly numerous 



