44 CHESTNUT-COLLARED LARK BUNTING. 



Length to end of tail 6| inches ; bill along the ridge i| ; wing from 

 flexure 4^ ; tail 2/^ ; tarsus ^§ ; hind toe i%, its claw || ; middle toe /j; 

 its claw ||. 



In size and form there is little difference between the three species 

 of Blue Bird, namely, Sylvia (or Sialia) Sialis, arctica, and occiden- 

 talis. The first of these species has the wings shorter than the other 

 two, in which the primary quills are remarkably elongated ; its bill is 

 also shorter, and its general habit seems to be somewhat more robust. 

 Males of the three species are easily distinguished by their colours. 

 S. Sialis is of a rich bright blue above, brownish-red beneath anteriorly ; 

 S. arctica, is of a light smalt or greenish-blue above, and of a paler tint 

 of the same beneath anteriorly ; S. occidentalis is of an intermediate tint 

 of blue, approaching to ultramarine, with a chestnut band across the 

 back, the throat also blue, but the fore part of the breast red. The in- 

 timate affinity of the three species affords one of the most striking in- 

 stances of this kind that are met with. 



The plant represented Galycantkus fioridus, the Carolina Alespice, 

 much esteemed on account of the fragrance of its large purple flowers, 

 abounds in the Southern States, growing on the margins of swamps 

 and rivulets. 



CHESTNUT-COLLARED LARK-BUNTING. 



Emberiza ornata. 



PLATE CCCXCIV. Male. 



Dr TowNSEND procured a single male of this new species, respect- 

 ing which he has sent me the following notice. " It is by no means a 

 common bird ; keeps in pairs, and appears to live exclusively upon the 

 ground ; is remarkably shy, and although I saw the female several times 

 I was unable to procure it." Were my young friend at my elbow, I 

 would certainly ask him a few questions, and in particular where he 

 procured this species. 



