KKINUILLID.E — THIO FLNCIIKS. 



46 



He adds that, in his ahsence, Dr. Ifuermann i»rncun'«l the e^'s of this spocios 

 nil tlif MiMlina, and whih* he was hiniselt tiavtdlin^' in .Inly towards Loicdo, 

 he toinnl a nest wliich lie was fully contident beh>n<,'ed to this bird. It was 

 i)la( ed in a low hush not ahove a foot fmni the ^Mnund, and in its construe- 

 tion resenihled that of the I'oospizK Inlitieiita. The e«,'^'s were three in nuni- 

 her, pure white, ('h)S(dy a<,n-eeing with those takei» hy Dr. Heerniann, and 

 larger and more elon;4ated than those of the hi/imntn. 



An ej;^' of this si>eeies, taken in Texas by Dr. II. K. Storer, the identifica- 

 tion of which, however, was incomplete, is more oWon<; than the e<,'gs of P. 

 iLsticalis, and smaller, measuring .72 by .58 of an inch. It is i»ure white 

 also. 



Feucsea ruficeps, Raird. 



BU70V8-CB0WNED 8PABB0W. 



Ammodromus rvficeps, Cas.sin, Pr. A. N. Sc. VI, Oct. 1852, 184 (California). — Ib. lUu.st. 

 I, V, 1854, 135, pi. XX. Pcucied nijitvps. Haiku, Birds N. Aiu. 1858, 480. — Cooi-ku, 

 Orn. Cal. I, 1870, 218. 



Sp. Char. Above bro\vnish-aj?liy. The crown and nape uniform browni.sh-chestnut, 

 the interscapular region and neck with the feathers of this color, excei)t around the 

 margins. A superciliary ashy stripe, whiter at the base of the bill. Beneath pale 

 yellowish-brown, or brownish-yellow, darker and more ashy across the breast and on the 

 sides of body ; middle of belly and chin lighter ; the latter with a well-marked line of 

 black on each side. Edge of wing white. Under tail-coverts more rufous. Legs 

 yellow. Length, 5.50 ; wing, 2.35 ; tail, 2.8."). 



Hab. Coast of California, to Mexico ; ? Oaxaca, March (Scl. 1859, 380) ; ? Vera Cruz, 

 temperate region ; resident (Sum. M. B. S. I, 552). 



This plainly colored species has the bill rather slender ; tail rather long, 

 and considerably rounded ; the outer feathers .40 of an inch shorter than 

 the middle ; the feathers soft, and rounded at the tip. The wing is short ; 

 the primaries not much longer than the tertials ; the second, third, fourth, 

 and fifth nearly equal ; the first scarcely longer than the secondaries. 



There is a blackish tinge on the forehead, separated by a short central 

 line of Miiite, as in SpizHJa socialis. The eyelids are whitish, and there is a 

 short black line immediately over the upper lid. There is a faint chestnut 

 streak back of the eye. The chestnut of the nape is somewhat inteiTupted 

 by pale edgings. The blotches on the back melt almost insensibly into the 

 colors of the margins of the feathers. The outer edges of the secondaries 

 and tertials, and the outer surface of the tail, are yellowish-rusty. 



This bird is similar in general appearance to the P. cestivalis, but has the 

 head above more continuous chestnut ; the black cheek-stripe more distinct, 

 and the edge of wing whitish, not yellow, the bill more slender. A Mexican 

 specimen has a stouter bill. 



The P. boiwardi of Sclater (= rvficeps, var. hovmrdi; see table, p. 634), from 

 Mexico, is exceedingly similar, it being very difficult to present the differences 



