FRINGILLID.E — THE FINCHES. 



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Lieiitonaiit Coucli took tliis yp<'cies at Tiiiiuiuliitas, ^roxico, ami at Browns- 

 ville, Soutliwesteni Texas, in March. It has also been seen in ^lay, at the 

 Forks of the Saskatchewan, hy ('ai)tain lilakiston. 



Lincr)ln's Finch was met with hy Mr. IJidgway in abundance only durinj,' 

 its spring and tall migrations. Towards the last of April it was quite 

 C(unmon in wet brushy places in the vicinity of C'arson City. It was next 

 observed in Octol)er ann)ng the willows bordering Deep Creek, in N(jrthcrn 

 Utah. In the weedy pastures in Parley's Park it was a common species, 

 frequenting the resorts of the Z. hiicuphnjs. A nest, with young, was dis- 

 covered near the camp. It was end)edded in the giound, beneath a bush. 

 Its song he did not hear, only a single ckiick, almost as loud as that of the 

 rasserclla schist acea. 



Dr. Cooper reports this species as near San Diego about March 25. Large 

 Hocks were then ])assing northward. During the day they kei)t auKuig the 

 grass, and were rather shy and silent. They seemed to have a good deal of 

 the hal)its of the Paxscrculiis, and to differ much in their gregariousness, their 

 migratory habits, and their general form, from the other Mfloxpka\ Dr. 

 Cooper did not meet Mith any of tht>se l)irds in the C'olorado Valley, nor has 

 he seen or heard of anv having been found in California during the summer. 

 The M. iinco/iii has been found breeding up to high Arctic latitudes. It was 

 met with by Mr. Kennicott at Fort Simi)Son and at Fort Kesolution. At the 

 latter place its nests were found between the 2d and the l-4th of June. 

 They were also obtained in ^lay, June, and July, at Fort Simpson, by Mr. 

 I), li. Koss, and at Yukon Kiver, Fort line, Xulato, and other localities in the 

 extreme northern regions, by ^lessrs. lieid, lA)ckhart, Clarke, Kirk by. and 

 Dali. On ^It. Lincoln, Colorado, above eight thousand feet, Mr. Allen found 

 this Sparrow very numerous. 



This Finch was found bv Salvin about the reeds on the mar<dn of Lake 

 Duenas, Guatemala, in Feln'uary, but was not common. It is common, in 

 the winter months, near Oaxaca, Mexico, where it was taken by Mr. Boucard. 



Mr. Kennicott saw its nest June 14. This w^as on the ground, built in a 

 bunch of grass in rather an open and dry place, and containing five eggs. 

 The female permitted him to approach very close to her, until he finally 

 caught her on the nest with his beating-net. Another nest was placed 

 in a bunch of grass growing in the water of a small grassy pond. The 

 nest contained four eggs and one young bird. 



The nest and eggs of this species had been previously discovered by Dr. 

 Iloy, near Kacine. This is, I believe, the first instance in which it was iden- 

 tified by a natumhst, as also the most southern point at wdiich it has ever 

 been found. These eggs measure .74 by .60 of an inch. They have a pale 

 greenish-white ground, and are thickly marked with dots and small blotches 

 of a ferruginous-brown, often so numerous and confluent as to disguise and 

 partially conceal the ground. 



Vol,. II, 



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