402 NOin'lI AMKUICAN hiuds. 



(18t;i, ;?7r); lSfi3, 4(l; mid 18(li», 180) ]mn'^ iiiodcls of nniitlinl()j,ri,.al criti- 

 cism and discuHsioii. His lalmrs iiaw; niiaMi'd us to tUiline with prt'ci.sioii tiio 

 various forms, botli Kuroiican and American, found in this gunus, and nave 

 brought us to satisfactory conclusions in reference to their limitations. 



Mr. Ifidgwuy lias hit made a careful revision of the specimens of ^h't/iu- 

 thiis in the Sinithsouian collection, and wilii a general cuiuairrence in the 

 conclusions of Ih: Coues in regard to the dilfereneea observable, he sug- 

 gests, as an ajiplicatioii of tlie laws more recently .eritied by bim and myself 

 in our examination of the North American land-birds, that we may best con- 

 sider the actual species to be two in numlier, namely, cauencr.ns and linuriim, 

 ranging the other forms under these, either as geographical races or as sea- 

 sonal stages. Hearing in mind the general law that the more boreal or 

 Greenliind-born specimens should be larger than the more southern or Con- 

 tinental, and that the jjctndiar ilark plumage of fmconxiiH and rostrtitus 

 only occurs in summer breeding specimens, he considers the.se as identical 

 with liii'iriiis and Imlholli ; the winter ]>lumages respectively of the same tv o 

 races of one species, /ijuirins; the latter race, liolholli, being the larger or 

 Greenland form. If /iisrcsirna be darker than summer liiiariHn Irom Eu- 

 rope, it is simply another instance of the darktsr tints of Arctic American 

 birds as compared with Kuroj)ean. 



jiJyiuthioi rancscfUH and (.'■i/ijws Mr. llidgway considers as the Cfreenland 

 (larger) and Continental (smaller) races of one species, which perhaps do not 

 ditl'er so nnich with .season as do those of iinarius. The diH'erences in the 

 size and proooitions of bill, and ])erliaps of feet, Afr. liidgway does not think 

 of nuich im])ortance, as great variations are observalile in this respect in 

 specimens from the same locality, and the actual difterences of the bill are 

 obscured by the greater length of the bristly feathers around its base in 

 winter, making it appear considerably shorter. Indeed, Professor Alfred 

 Newton maintains that the same bird will have the bill considerably longer 

 in summer, after living on soft insect food, and shorter in winter when worn 

 down by use on hard seeds. Mr. llidgway finds, too, that specimens of Iina- 

 rius from Kodiak dilfer in a much longer and more slender bill than usual, 

 in this resjiect resembling Alaska specimens t)f .several other Fringillida;. 



The folk)wing synopsis expresses Mr. Iiidgway's views as indicated above : 

 a critical examination of a series of more than two hundred specimens, in 

 the collection of the Smithsonian Institution, being the basis of his con- 

 clusions. — S. R B. 



Species asd Varieties. 



Common Ciiar.\ctehs. Adiill. Above streaked with Ansky upon .1 lirownisli, 

 or bmwn and whitish, ground; wing-coverts tipped with wliitish or pale brown. 

 Bciieatli whitish, .streaked on the sides with dusky. An indistiiiet, ligliter super- 

 ciliary .stripe. Mah. Rnnip tin.<re<l with rose-pink. Female. Rump not tinged 

 with pinkish. Juv. Without any red, and with the wliolo lower parts thickly 

 streaked. 



