FRINGILLID.E — THE FINCHES. 569 



The food of this bird, in Liibnidor, wus I'ouiid to consist of small coleop- 

 terous insucts, grass-seeds, a variety of berries, as well as minute shell-fish, 

 for which they searched the margins of ponds near tlie sea-shore. They 

 "vere also seen to pursue insects on tlie wing. Mr. Audubon .speaks of its 

 song as consisting of six or .seven notes, and describes it as loud, clear, and 

 musical, although of a plaintive nature, diminisliiiii; in power to the last note. 

 Its flight he describes as low, swift, and protracted. 



Dr. (Joues did not find this bird abundant in South Carolina during the 

 winter, and conjectures that it does not go so far to the south. Its migrations 

 do not appear to be well defined, and nowhere is it known to be abundant 

 during this season. Lieutenant Couch met with it at IJrownville, Texas, and 

 Tamaulipes, Mexico, and at t^harco Escondido, in March, at whicli time tliey 

 were in fl()cks, indicating a more southern migration than is generally sup- 

 posed. 



It extends its northern migrations to the extreme northern and northeast- 

 ern portions of the continent, and also to Greenland. On tlie Yukon and 

 Anderson Rivers it is n'placed by the Z. (jarnhdi. It is not abundant in 

 Greenland, llolbiill obtained a single .specimen only in August, and after- 

 wards met with a Hock of young- birds.. He infers that they breed in the 

 interior, but are restricted to a very narrow strip of territory. 



Eggs of this species, from Wyoming Territory, measure from .HO to .05 of 

 an inch in length by .70 in breadth, and are of an oblong-oval shape. The 

 ground-color is a light greenish-white, thickly marked with reddish-brown 

 and lighter markings of an obscure purplish-brown. The intensity, depth of 

 coloring, and size of the darker brown markings, vary. They are princi- 

 pally disposed about the larger end. 



Zonotrichia leucophrys var. gambeli, Gambel. 



WESTEBir WHITB-CROWHED SFABROW. 



Fringilla gnmbeli, Nurr. Man. I, (2(1 cil.,) 1840, 556. — G.v.MnF.L, I'r. A. N. St'. Pliila. I, 

 1843, 262 (Cnliforiiiii.) Zoiiulrichiti ijnmbeh', Ovmbki., ,I. A. N. Sc. 2(1 scrips, I, Dec. 

 1847, 50. — Baikd, Binls N. Am. 1838, 460, pi. l.xix, f. 1. — Loud, Pr. R. A. lust. 

 IV, 1864, 119 (British ColmiiWii). — Cooi'F.K & SucKi.RV, 201. — D.vll & Ba.nni.stek, 

 Tr. Cli. Ac. I, 1869, 284 (Alaska). -—Cooi-Eli, Orii. Cal. 1, 195. Zonotrichia leu- 

 cophn/s, Nkwueuuy, Zoiil. Cal. & Or. Route ; Rep. P. R. R. VII, iv, 1857, 87. 



Sp. Char. Precisely similur to Z. leiirophrys, but rather smaller ; the lores are pjray 

 throughout, this color continuous with a white superciliary stripe along the side of the 

 head. Lenpth, 6.25 ; wing, 2.83 ; tail, 3.08. 



Had. Rocky Mountains to the Pacific coast, north to Nulato and Fort Kenai, east 

 tlirough the valley of the Mackenzie River, and south to Jalisco and Afazatlan. Mexico. 



As stated in the previous article, the only appreciable and constant differ- 

 ence between this race and Z. Jevcophrys is found in the character of the 

 black stripe on the side of the crown. In leucophrys the black passes down 

 72 



