816 NOTES ON THE 
been detected in only this one locality. The survivors appar- 
ently left in the latter part of August. 
‘‘An inspection of the dates given above, will show that the 
young buntings are taken at times considerably separated, and 
as they are probably all of the same brood, they afford excel- 
lent subjects for a few remarks upon the plumage of the first 
year. In the ‘‘Birds of the Northwest,” page 135, Dr. Coues 
gives the characters of the immature birds taken by him. 
These were evidently older than those before us, as a compari- 
son of the following with the description given by Dr. Coues 
will show. In adult specimens the plumage does not differ 
materially. The buffiness of the breast and throat, and the | 
intensity of the coloration generally, varies of course to a 
certain extent. All the tail feathers are acuminate, but ie 
two central ones are very slender. 
‘Phe young we will designate Nos. 1, 2and 3, respectively, in 
the order in which they were taken. All three show more or 
less strongly that fluffy, unsettled looking plumage character- 
istic of young birds for a short time after they become full 
fledged. 
“No. 1, taken June 20th, is presumably, judging from date 
and appearance, the youngest. In this specimen, the entire 
under parts are light, diffuse yellow. Over the whole upper 
parts, including wing coverts and tertials, the feathers are 
either almost wholly saffron-yellow or broadly edged with this 
color. The wings, and toa slight extent, the tertials, show the 
chestnut edgings of the adult. Ihe collar on the back of the 
neck but very faintly indicates that it will become chestnut and 
grayish. The feathers of the dark bands on the top of the 
head show the chestnut edgings of the adult. Across the 
back is a very slight tinge of buff, and the same area is thickly 
marked with small subdued streaks entirely across for a 
distance of half an inch, and as a feature of special note there 
is on each isde of the throat a very distinct maxillary streak. 
‘In No. 2, taken August 1st, the lower parts are much less 
yellow, and the upper parts darker, while the chestnut and 
white of the interscapulars, and other feathers, are beginning 
to appear. The markings on the breast are firm and confined 
more to the sides, and while the maxillary streaks are still 
evident, they are becoming indistinct. 
“In No. 3, taken August 8th, we have amuch nearer approach 
to the adult. The under parts are beginning to appear white 
posteriorly and buffy anteriorly; the streaks of the median 
