84 THE OOLOGIST. 



Male, 7 3-4, 13. 



Passes from Texas noi-thward and eastward in great numbers. Breeds on the Mis- 

 souri, in the Middle States, Newfoundland and Labrador. Rather common. Migratory. 



* * * * * 



Adult Male. 



Bill short, robust, bulging at tlie base, conical, acute ; upper mandible with its 

 dorsal outline a little convex, the sides rounded, the edges sharp ; lower mandible 

 with its dorsal outline a little convex, the sides rounded, the edges inflected ; the gap- 

 line is deflected at the base ; then straight to the end. Nostrils basal, roundish, open, 

 partly concealed by the feathers. Head ratlier large, neck short, general form robust. 

 Legs of moderate leugth, rather strong; tarsus anteriorly covered with few scutella, 

 the upper long, posteriorly sharp ; toes scutellate above, free, the lateral ones nearly 

 equal ; claws slender, arched, compressed, acute, that of the hind toe not much larger. 



Plumage soft and blended, but firm and elastic. Wings of moderate length, broad, 

 the second, third, and fourth quills longest, the secondaries rounded. Tail longish, 

 slightly emarginate, of twelve rounded feathers. 



Bill white. Iris hazel. Feet greyish-blue. The head all round, including the 

 upper part of the neck, the hind neck, the back, wings, and tail, glossy black ; the first 

 row of coverts, the tips of the secondary coverts, the basal half of the primary quills, 

 and the inner webs towards the end of the three lateral tail feathers, white, as is the 

 rump, that part, however, being spotted with black. Lower neck and middle of the 

 breast of a bright carmine tint ; lower wing coverts white, tinged with carmine. 



Length 7 ^-4 inches, extent of Avings 13 ; bill along the back 15-34, along the edge 

 9-12 ; tarsus 11-12. 



Adult Female. 



The female difiers greatly from the male in external appearance. The bill brown 

 above, paler beneath ; iris hazel ; feet as in tlie male. The g^jueral colour of the plu- 

 mage above is olivaceous-browu, spotted with brownish-black, the central part of each 

 feather being of the latter colour. On the head is a central longitudinal band of pale 

 yellowish-grey, spotted with dark brown, then on each side a dark brown baud, and 

 above the eye a white one ; a brown band from the bill to the eye and beyond it, and 

 under this a whitish band. There are two white bands on the wings, as in the male, 

 but narrower and duller. The quills and tail are brown. The lower parts light brown- 

 ish-yellow, fading behind into white ; the fore-neck, bi-east, and sides marked wiht 

 small longitudinal spots or streaks of dark-brown. The lower wing-coverts very slightly 

 tinged with rose-colour. 



Young Male in autumn. 



After the first moult, the young male resembles the female, but already shews the 

 rosy tints both on the breast and on the under wing-coverts. 



Young in first plumage. 



In this state also the young resemble the female. 



