FUINOlLLlIhK — TIIH IMNCIIKS. 5Q() 



Dimensions: Total luiii,'!!!, T.HO ; wiutr, •l.'^i'; (nil, '■>.'>*>. Ivxnoscd [Hirtion of liist |iii- 

 niiiiy, .'i.")!). JJill, IriPiu I'oifiieiwl, .(JU ; iVom lutstril, .I'J. Li'i^s : tarsus, .1)."); luiildlc loc 

 iiiul claw, .02; claw alinic, ..'J'/ ; himl toe and claw, .()!): claw alone, .;i.S. 



IIau. Al<Milian Islands (Hi. (!coi'gi''s and riiahuschka). 



This is coiisiilunibly tlio largest of tiiu Aiiu'rican siiccics di' Liinvnllrlf, ami 

 lias a longer bill. It also has the chocolatu and rose color darker, and the 

 rose extending iarther forward ou the breast than in other species. It could 

 only lie conlbunded with C. llf/orniis as to color, both having the liead abdve, 

 and on tiie sides, a.shy, covering the whole ear-coverts; but the dusky patch 

 on the crown is more extended, the ash of chin iiKire restricteil, and the 

 throat darker. The rose extends iarther along the breast, and the tints arc 

 diflerent. Tiie size is much larger. 



A specimen, apparently young, jierhaps a female, differs in didler tints, 

 and a tinge of ochreous-yeHow on the middle of tiie alidonien and crLssuni. 

 The lining of the wings is without tiny rose-color. 



IJonaparte and Schlegel describe the young of this sj)ecies as without rose- 

 color. 



Specimens of this bird were obtained at St. (leorgo's Island, Avith the eggs 

 (which are white), 1)y Afr. W. IF. J)all. J)r. Minor found it at Tnalaschka. 



II.ABITS. Tiie (Iray-eared Finch is the largest s]iecies of this remarkable 

 genus known to inhabit North America. Tlius far, excejit in onc^ instance, it 

 has been met with only in the Aleutian Islands and I'nalasclika. In the latter 

 jilace they were met with by Dr. T. T. Elinor, and in the former liy .Mr. I tail. 



JNfr. Ii. lirown (Ibis, IHOH, ]i. 41':^) states that a single s|iecinien of this 

 very rare bird was taken at Fort L'upert, Vancouver Island, in June, 18(12^ 

 by Mr. I'. M. C.'ompton, the officer in charge of that station. Tiiis, however, 

 may have belonged to the var. /l//(ir(i/is. 



"Mr. Dall states that they abound on the Pribylow and the other Aleutian 

 Islands, A nnmlier of sjiecimens were obtaiiu^d on tlie St. (Jeorge's in Au- 

 gust, though at that time they were moulting. At that season tiiis bird 

 had no ,song exce])t a clear chir]), .sounding like mrZ-fi urif-d-irc'r-ircrf. It 

 was on the wing a gretit ])art of the time, rarely alighting on the ground, but 

 darting ra])idly in a series of descending and ascending curves. At one time 

 it would sM'ing on the ln'oad to]> of an umbelliferous plant, and at another 

 alight on .son;e ledge of tlie jierjiendicular liluff, Juinjnng from ]inint to ])oint, 

 as if delighting to test its own agility. Mr. Dall adds that its nest is a 

 sini])le hollow on one of the ledges, ])rovided with a few straws or a bit of 

 mos.s. They deposit their eggs in May, and these are four in number. In 

 August tlieir young were fully fledged. 



They feed on the siseds of grasses and other small iilants, but in the cro]) 

 of one Mr. Dall found two or three small beetle.^. They were also received 

 from Kodiak, through Mr. I>isclioff. 



Their eggs are of a grayisli-white, with a slight tinge of yellowish, and 

 measure .Oo by .?(• of an inch. 



