116 



NORTH AMERICAN RIRD.«. 



May 2G, was built on the grouiul, among scrulvoak brusli. It is a vary slight 

 structure, composed almost entirely of coarse dry stems of grass, with a few 

 bits of coarse inner bark, and with a base made up wholly with the latter 

 material, and ha\ing a diameter of about four inches. 



The eggs of this nest, four in number, have an average measurement of .95 

 of an inch in length by ,73 in breadth. Their ground-color is crystalline- 

 white, covered very generally with spots and small blotches of purplish and 

 wine-colored brown, somewhat aggregated at the larger end. 



Fipilo maculatus, var. oregonus, Bell. 



OBEOON GBOUNO BOBIN. 



Pipilo oregonm. Bell, Ann X. Y. Lyo. V, 1852, (Oregon^ — Bcnap. Corapte.s Rcndus, 

 X.KXVll, Dee. 1853, 922.-18. Notes Oiu. Dolattie, 1854, 22 (same as pree.). — 

 Bam!!', Birds Ji. Am. 1858, 513. — Loitn, Pr. R. A. Inst. IV, 64, 120 (British Col.). 

 — Cdii'EU & SucKLEY, 200. — Cooi'EU, Om. Cal. I, 241. Fringilla antica, Aud. Orn. 

 Biog. V, 1839, 49, iil. ece.veiv. (not of Swainson). Pipilo ardiai, Aud. Syn. 1839, 

 123. — Ib. Birds Am. Ill, 1841, 104, pi. exeiv. 



Sp. Guar. Upper surfiice generally, with the head and neck all round to the upper 



part of the breast, deep black ; the rest of lower 

 parts pure white, except the r;ides of the body 

 and under tail-coverts, which are light chestnut- 

 brown ; the latter rather i)aler. The outer webs of 

 scapulars (usually edged narrowly with black) and 

 of the superincumbent feathers of the back, with a 

 rounded white spot at the end of the outer webs 

 of the greater and middle coverts ; tlie outer edges of the innermost tertials white ; no 

 white at the base of the primaries. Outer web of the first tail-feather lilack, ocea,sionally 

 white on tlie extreme edge ; the outer three with a white tip to the inner web. Outer 

 quill shorter than ninth, or scarcely equalling the secondaries; fouith quill longest; fifth 

 .scarcely shorter. Length, 8.25; wing, 4.40; tail, 4.0t). Female with the black replaced 

 by a more brownish tinge. Claws much as in eryihrophlhalmus. 



IIar. Coasts of Oregon and Washington Territories, south to San Francisco, California. 

 .Melting eastward and south into megaloiiijx. West Humboldt Mountains and Northern 

 Sierra Nevad.i. 



Comparing this race with arctirus, we do not find much difference in the 

 wjiite of the scapular region, except that 

 the wliite marks here, as elsewhere on the 

 wing, are rounded, the extreme end of the 

 outer web of the feather being black in- 

 stead of running out acutely white to the 

 very tip of the outer webs of the feathers. 

 This gives rather less extension to the 

 white. In fact, most of the white marks 

 are edged externally with Ijlack. convert- 

 ing them into spots. There is no white wliatever at the exposed base of the 



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