234 COW-PEN BIRD. 



as follows : — " The four Cow Blackbirds which I obtained the last day 

 you were with us, were shot in the marshes of Fresh Pond, by Mr 

 Charles E. Ware. I went to the pond a day or two after, but was 

 unable to procure any, as it was so late in the afternoon that they were 

 all gone to roost in the reeds, and I could see them in thousands, nay, 

 tens of thousands. The rustling noise they made was truly deafening." 



Icterus pecoris, Bonap. 



Ambiguous Sparrow, Fringilla ambigua, NuUall, Manual, vol i. p. 484. 



Young Male. Plate CCCCXXIV. Fig. 4. 



Bill yellowish-brown. Tarsi, toes, and claws pale brown. The 

 upper parts are greyish-brown, the quills and tail darker ; the wing- 

 coverts and secondary quills narrowly edged with light brown, the pri- 

 maries with whitish, as are the feathers on the edge of the wing. The 

 lower parts are dull yellowish- white, the sides marked with a series of 

 dark brown pointed spots, the lower sui'face of the wings dusky. 



Length to end of tail 6^ inches ; bill along the ridge f^ ; wing from 

 flexure 3J ; tail 2^ ; tarsus 1 ; middle toe and claw l^'j. 



An adult male of this species preserved in spirits presents the fol- 

 lowing characters. The roof of the mouth has three longitudinal ridges 

 anteriorly, the middle ridge terminated by a soft prominence, similar 

 to that of the Buntings, behind which the palate descends in the same 

 manner as in them. The posterior aperture of the nares is oblong, 

 with an anterior slit. The tongue is 7 twelfths long, fleshy, tapering, 

 flat above, horny towards the end, and pointed. The cesophagus, which 

 is 3i inches long, passes along the right side of the neck, accompanied 

 by the trachea ; its diameter at the commencement is 4 twelfths, but 

 it immediately dilates into a crop, which extends to the length of 1^ 

 inch, its greatest width being \ inch ; it then contracts to ^ inch, and 

 enters the thorax. The proventriculus measures 4| twelfths broad. 

 The stomach is a strong muscular gizzard, 9 twelfths long, 7^ twelfths 

 broad, a little compressed ; the lateral muscles large and distinct ; 

 the epithelium tough, longitudinally rugous, and of a reddish-brown 

 colotir. The contents of the stomach are grains of wheat. The in- 

 testine is rather short, and of moderate diameter, being 9 J inches 

 long, and varying from 2 twelfths to 1^ twelfth in breadth ; the dia- 



