MACGILLIVRAY’S FINCH. 395 
of grasses, although when they do they climb with facility, occasion- 
ally using their tail as a support, in the same manner as the Rice-bird. 
Their strong tarsi and toes enable them to walk on the ground with 
great vigour. When they take wing deliberately, their flight resembles 
that of a young partridge, and, if over the land, is seldom extended 
between forty or fifty yards at a time. The males appear very jealous 
of each other, and frequently one pursues another on wing, but usually 
abandons the chase before the conquered bird has alighted, leaving it 
to pursue its course as it pleases after it has been driven beyond the 
assailant’s jurisdiction. The notes of this species are few and un- 
musical, consisting of a sort of roll of five or six syllables, which it 
seems to me impossible to imitate. They are usually heard early in 
the morning. My friend Dr Bacuman informs me that none of these 
Finches remain in South Carolina during winter, and that they gene- 
rally disappear early in November, when the weather is still very plea-_ 
sant in the maritime portions of that state. Many, however, spend 
the winter in the salt marshes about the mouths of the Mississippi, 
and I have no doubt that they are constant residents there, as they 
are in the Texas. 
This species has already been described at p. 285 of the second 
volume of the present work. 
