FI'JXCir.LID.K — THE FIXCirKS. 



57 



nest of Uie two s])Ocie.s, 1h» juMs, wltc also so inucli alike in inainuT of ecui- 

 striR-tion and situation, and the t'>;j,'.s so similar, tliat it rei|uireil a careful 

 observation to identilv a nest when one was found. 



Tlie egj^'S from one nest of tlie J\issrtr//t/ schi^tairn measure .IM) by .70 of 

 r,n inch, have a j^round of a li^dit mountain-«,'ree!i, and are profusely spotted 

 with blotches of a rufous-brown, generally diffused over the entire e«;g. 



Another nest of this spt^cies, obtained in Parley's Park, iii the Wahsatch 

 Mountains, by Mr. Iiidgway, June li.'l, 18(>l>, was built in a clump of willows, 

 about two feet from the grounil. The nest is two inches in heij^lit, two and 

 a lialf in diameter, cavity one and a half deep, with a diameter of two. It 

 is composed externally of coarse decayed water-j^rass, is lined with fine hair 

 and tiner material like the outside. The egj^'s, four in number, are .Hi) by .07 

 of an inch, of a very roiindetl oval shape, the ground-color of a pale green, 

 blotched and marked chietly at the larger end with brown spots of a wine- 

 colored hue. 



Passerella townsendi, var. mega)rhynclius, Baird. 



THICK-BILIEB SPABBOW. 



Passcrrlhi schistuceo^ lUiKP, Birds N. Am. 1858, p. 490 (in part ; Ft. Tojon sj)ecimcns). 

 P<is.scrclla riwfirhtjnchns, 15Ainn, Birds N.Am. 18r)8, p. 925 (Appi^ndix). — Cooper, 

 Om. Cal. I, 222. I'asscrelln schisOura, var. mcijurhi/uchus, Kiuuwav, Kept. Gcol. 

 Expl. 40th Tar. 



Sp. Ciiah. Similar to var. srhiMfncea in colors, .size, and general proportions; but bill 



-<<i~x 



enormously thick, its depth bein^ very much 

 greater than the distance from nostril to tip, 

 instead of much less; color of lower mandihle 

 rosy milk-white, instead of maize-yellow. Bill, 

 ,3o from nostril. .47 deep; wing, 3.30; tail, 3.o(); 

 tarsus, .83; middle toe without claw, .03; hind 

 claw, 50. 



IIab. Sierra Nevada, from Fort Tejon north 

 to 40° latitude (Carson City, Nevada, breeding, 

 Ridgway). 



This very remarkable variety of P. tmmsendi is quite local in its distribu- 

 tion, having been observed only in the Sierra Nevada region, as above 

 indicated. The first specimens were brought from Fort Tejon by ^Fr. J. 

 Xantus, but at what season they were found there is not indicated on the 

 labels. Recently, specimens were procured by Mr. Ridgway at Carson City, 

 Nev., in April, they having arrived there about the 20tli of April, fre- 

 quenting the ravines of the Sierra near the snow. At the same place the 

 var. schistacca was found earlier in the spring, but among the willows along 

 the streams in the valleys, and not met with in the mountains ; and all the 

 individuals had passed northward before those of megarhjnchus arrived. 



VOL. II. 



8 



