IG 



NoliTlI AMKinCAN IJIIIDS. 



sexual orj^'ans. Tlie soujj is very nj^eaMe, not in the least rorallinj,' the 

 nion(»t()nou.s ditty of tlit; Cliip Uinl, or tlie rather weak luMiorniauees of S(»iue 

 otlier .sj)eeies of the ^'enus. In the latter part of siinHuer and early autnnni 

 the hirds were jL^enerally seen in small troops, ])erhaps faiuilies, in weedy 

 ydaees, associating with the v.esteni variety of *S^>o7/^( soci i' ^, as well as with 

 "inches." 

 Lieutenant Couch met with individuals of this species at Aj^ua Nueva, in 

 Coahuila, Mexico, in May, hsr)3. They were found in small tlocks among 

 the mountains. Their nest and eggs are unknown. 



M' losfiiza ituloitia . 



Genus MET*0SPI7A I^aird. 



Mclosjnzrf, B.MKD, Birds N. Am. 1868, 478. (Type, Frinfjilla mclodiu, WiLs.) 



Oen. Cfiar. Dody stout. Bill conical, very obsoletely notched, or smooth ; somewhat 



compressed. Lower ma'idiMe not so deep 

 as the upper. Coiinnissnre nearly straijijht. 

 Gonys a little curved. Feet stout, not 

 stretching be3'ond the tail; tarsus a little 

 lonj^cr than the middle toe; outer toe a 

 little longer than the inner; its claw not 

 quite reaching to the base of the middle 

 one. Ilind toe appreciably longer than the 

 middle one. Win^/s quite short and round- 

 ed, scarcely reaching beyond the base of 

 the tail : the tertials considerably longer 

 than the secondaries ; the quills considera- 

 bly graduated; the fourth longest; the first 

 not longer than the tertials, and almost the 



shortest of the primaries. Tail moderately long, rather longer from coccyx than the 



wings, and considerably graduated ; the leathers 



oval at the tips, and not stifTened. Crown and 



back similar in color, and streaked; beneath thickly 



streaked, except in J/. ]Kih>s(ris. Tail immaculate. 



Usually nest on ground ; nests strongly woven of 



grasses and fibrous stems ; Q^^'^^^ marked with rusty- 

 brown and purple on a ground of a clay color. 



This genus differs from Zomtrirhia in the 

 shorter, more graduated tail, rather longer 

 hind toe, much more rounded wing, which is 

 shorter ; the tertiaries longer ; the first quill 

 almost the shortest, and n<jt longer than the 

 tertials. The under parts are spotted ; the 

 crown streaked, and like the hack. 



There are few species of American birds 

 that have caused more perplexity to the 

 ornithologist than the group of which Melospiza melodia is the type. Spread 



Melos/nza meMta. 



I» 



