FUI.\G1L1.ID.E — THE FINCHES. 



47 



about as lonjr ns tlio winjrs. much {rradnato*! ; tlio feathers rather narrow, linear, and 

 ellipticallv rounded at the end ; the outer wehs more than usually hroad in proportion to 

 the iimer', being more than one third as wide. The upper parts are olive-green, the under 

 whitish. ' 



Tlic position of tliis genus is a niattor of considerable uncertainty. On 

 some accounts it would be better placed among the ^2)iziiia\ 



There are numerous tropical species of this genus ; none of them are 

 nearly allied, however, to the single North American species. 



Embemagra rufivirgata, Lawrence. 



TEXAS SPAEBOW. 



Emhcrnfifira rnfrirgafa, Lawrence, Ann. N. Y. Lye V, May, 1851, 112, pi. v, f. 2 (Toxas). 



— ScLATEU, I'r. Zo(il. Soc. 185G, 300. — Ha inn, Birds N. Am. 1858, 487, pi. Iv. f. 2. 



— Ib. Mex. Bound. II, Birds, 16, pi. xvii, f. 2. Zonotrichia pkbeja, LiciiT. Bon. 

 Comptes Rend. 43, 1856, 413. 



Sp. Chak. Above uniform olivaceous-grcen. A stripe on each side of the head, and 

 one behind the eye, dull brownish-rufous, an 

 ashy superciliary stripe whiter anteriorly. Len- 

 der parts brownish-white, tinged with yellowi.^h 

 posteriorly, and with olivaceous on the sides; 

 white in the middle of the bellv. Edge of 

 wing, under coverts, and axillaries bright yel- 

 low. Young with the head-stripes ol>solete. 

 Length, 5.50 ; wing, 2.G0 ; tail, 2.70. 



Hab. Valley of the Rio Grande, and prob- 

 ably of Gila, southward ; Mazatlan, Mexico. 

 Oaxaca, April (Scl. 1859, .380) ; Cordova ; 

 Vera Cniz. tempeiate and hot regions, breed- 

 ing (Sr.M. M. B. 8. I, 551) ; Yucatan (Lawr. 



IA, 201). £tnbemagra rujhirffatafhuyrr. 



In this species the bill is rather long ; the wings are very short, and much 

 rounded ; the tertials equal to the primaries ; the secondaries rather sliorter ; 

 the first quill is .60 of an inch shorter than the seventh, which is longest. 

 The tail is short ; the lateral feathei*s nuich graduated ; the outer half an 

 inch shorter than the middle. 



All the Mexican specimens before us have the bill stouter than those 

 from the llio Grande of Texas, the stripes on the head apjiarently better 

 defined. The back is darker olive ; the flanks brighter olive-green, not oliv^e- 

 gray , the wings are apparently shorter. The series is not sufficiently perfect 

 to show other differences, if any exist. 



Habits. In regard to the habits and distribution of this species we are 

 entirely without any information, other than that it has been met with in the 

 valley of the Rio Grande, and at various places in Mexico. Specimens were 

 obtained at New Leon, Mexico, by Lieutenant Couch, and at Ringgold Bar- 



