524 NUUTII A.Mf:iMCAN BIRDS. 



season, to tlie nortlieni bouiidaiy of (lio riiitod States. It was first discov- 

 ered by Captain Maccown, wlio obtained it in Texas, where he t'onnd it 

 in company with a Hock of Shore J.arks, and wliere it winters in eonsider- 

 able numbers. Mv. Dresser afterward met with it in small Hocks, early in 

 A]>ril, on the prairies near San Ant- ;'io. It was not very common, and he 

 was only able to obtain two specimens during his stay in that section. 



Dr. Heermann found tiii;, species congregated in large flocks, in company 

 with the lUack-shouldered Bunting. They were engaged in gleaning the 

 seeds from the .scanty grass, on the vast arid plains of New Mexico. Insects 

 and berries formed also a part of their ibod ; in search of these they showed 

 great activity, running about with celerity and ease. In the spring, large 

 flocks were seen at Fort Thorn, having migrated thither from the Xorth 

 the previous fall. With the return of n)ild weather they again departed 

 for the North for the purjKJses ol' incubation. Among these large flocks Dr. 

 Heermann noticed also the Shore Lark, but they formed only a small pro- 

 portion of the whole nundjcr. 



In a letter to Mr. ('assin. Dr. Heermann states that lit found this species 

 congregated with large nundiers of other birds about the isolatetl water-holes 

 in the barren plains of New Mexic(j. 



jMr. J. A. Allen states (Am. Xat., May, 1872) that, during a few weeks' stay 

 near Fort Hays in midwinter, he found Macct)wn's Longspur tolerably fre- 

 cpient in that vicinity. 



An egg of this species, in the coUectitn of the late Dr. Henvy Bryant, 

 measures .80 by .0(1 of an inch. Its ground-color is a light })luish clay-color, 

 marbled, dotted, blotched, and lined with light neutral tints of lavender and 

 darker markings of puri)lisli and reddish brown. The nest was placed on 

 the ground, and is comi)osed entirely of coarse grass-stems (Xo. 1^,521, J. 

 Pearsall, Fort IJenton). 



Sunr-VMiiA- PYRGITIN.ffi!. 



The introduction into tiie United States, at .so many di.stant points, of the 

 Kuropean House Sparrow (I'lpyitn domcsfica) renders it necessary to intro- 

 duce it with any work treating of tlie liirds of North America, although 

 totally different in so many features from our own native forms. I fol- 

 low Degland and (ierbc in placing the genus I'l/rr/ifu in a se|)arate sub- 

 family {Pjinjitimr, see jiage 44()), without any distinct idea of its true 

 aflinities, as it does not come legitimately witiiin any of the sul)f'aniilies 

 estalilished for the American genera. In some res]iects similar to certain 

 CoiTolhrausfinfl', in the short tarsi and covered nostrils, the wings are shorter 

 and more rounded, the sides of tlie bill with .stiff bristh^s, etc. Tiie much 

 larger, more vaulted bill, weaker feet, and covered nostrils, distinguish it from 

 Si)izclli)uv. 



