JUNCO HYEMAL1S. 



JTTNCO HYEMALIS. 



Black Snowbird. 

 Junco hycmalfs SCLATER, Pro. Zool. Soc., 1857, 7. 



DESCRIPTION. 



SP. CH. Form, quite robust. Tongue, fleshy, not very horny at tip, which ia provided with short, terminal, hair-like 

 fillers. Sternum. a< given under generic characters. Bill, quite sharp. 



Co 1.011. Ailult malr in suinmrr. Upper portion of body, including wings and tail, neck, breast and sides, slaty-blnck, 

 darkest anteriorly. Belly, abdomen, flanks, under tnil coverts, under wing coverts and extreme outer edges of primaries, 

 white. Four outer tail foathers are always white and two others are more or less so colored. Bill, pinkish, darker at tip 

 iiml base of upper mandible. Feet, brown. 



Ft malr in sprint/. Similar to the spring male but having the slaty-black overwashed with rufous. Only two outer 

 tail 1'. 'aiders are wholly white. 



Adult in winter and Youny. Adult malis in winter show more or less rufous, while the females are more highly ting- 

 ed with it than in the spring. The young are well washed with rufous for the first year and the white of the tail Ls much 



extended. 



_Y< .tt/inys. Are thickly streaked, above and below, with dusky, when they present a peculiar appearance 



OBSERVATIONS. 



Specimens, of the same age and sex, vary considerably in amount of rufous, especially above. The extension of the 

 while '.n the tail is also \ariable, but I never saw more than four feathers wholly white; a specimen, however, now lie-lorn 

 me, has the n;'xt pair nearly immaculate, there being only a basal spot en the inner webs and a very small terminal one on 

 fne miter. This specimen is also remarkable as being the only one which I ever examined from the East that had any in- 

 dieaiicm of win:; liars; in this case there are two which are quite distinct. This bird is very dark in color and altogether 



hat resembles "Aikenii." 



The present Aperies may be distinguished by the dark sides and absenceof any decidedly red dorsal patch, such as is to 

 i in Ori'i/,iniu and allied specias. Distributed, in summer, throughout Northern New England, Canada, and along 

 the highlands and mountain ranges of Eastern United States, at least as far south as Virginia. Winters from the Atlantic 

 to the liocky Mountains between the latitudes of Florida and Massachusetts. 



DIMENSIONS. 



.\\erairi' measurements of twenty eight specimens. Length, 6'25; stretch, 9'80; wing, 3'00; tail, 2-60; bill, '42; tarsus, 

 ?."i. Longest specimen, 7'00; greatest extent of wing, lO'OO; longest wing, 3'15; tail, 2'75; bill, '50; tarsus, '80. Smallest 

 specimen, 6'00; stretch, 9'50; wing, 2'80; tail, 2-50; bill, '40: tarsus, -70. 



DESCRIPTION OF NESTS AND EGGS. 



Nests, placed on the ground. Composed of fine grasses and lined with the same material. Dimensions; external di- 

 ameter, 4-00, internal, 3-00. External depth, 2'00, internal, I'OO. 



Eyys, four or fiv - in number, oval in form, varying from white to bluish-white in color, spotted with reddish-brown and 

 lilac. Dimensions, from '70 x -55 to '75 x '60. 



HABITS. 



On December 31, 187G, I was standing on the deck of the yacht Nina, sailing down 

 Calibogue Sound, before a fine breeze. We moved swiftly pasta point of land, which 

 shut out a view to the eastward, then the open ocean came into sight, and, in the dis- 

 tance, just to the southward, I recognized Tybee Light at the mouth of the Savannah 

 River! Nearer, to the right of when; the Sound opens into the sea, lay Daufuskic Island. 

 It was covcrcil with an exuberant growth of trees, mainly palmettos and live oaks, which 

 formed a wall of verdure, against which the white tower of the range beacon stood out in 

 strong relief; while the keeper's dwelling peeped out from among the green foliage. The 

 whole was fronted by a clean sandy beach, which rose abruptly from the sparkling water, 

 funning a neat foreground for one of the prettiest pictures that I had ever seen. Sweeping 



