TOWNSEND'S FINCH. 237 



Plumage soft and blended, the feathers ovato-oblong. Wings very 

 short, convex, rounded ; the second, third, and fourth quills longest, 

 and nearly equal, the first a quarter of an inch shorter than the second, 

 and equal to the sixth ; secondaries abruptly rounded. Tail longish, 

 nearly even. 



Bill dark brown above, the base of the lower mandible yellow, its 

 tip bluish ; iris brown ; feet flesh-colom-ed. The general colour of the 

 upper parts is a very deep olivaceous brown, in which there is appa- 

 rent a slight tinge of red, which becomes more conspicuous on the rump 

 and outer webs of the tail-feathers, and margins the wing-coverts and 

 quills ; there are no bands on the wings. The ground-colour of the 

 lower parts is the same as of the upper, but the shafts of the cheek- 

 feathers are whitish ; there is a longitudinal band of white spots from 

 the angle of the lower mandible ; the throat, fore neck, middle of the 

 breast, and hind part of the flanks are variegated with white, the greater 

 part of each feather being of that colour, and the tip only dusky brown ; 

 the lower tail-coverts are reddish-brown in the centre, with broad yel- 

 lowish-white edges, the tibial feathers dull reddish-brown, the lower 

 surface of the wing greyish-brown. 



Length to end of tail 7 inches ; extent of wings 10| ; bill along the 

 ridge j^s, along the edge of lower mandible -{^ ; wing from flexure 2^ ; 

 tail 2{|; tarsus ^^^l ; hind toe i%, its claw A; middle toe ||, its claw i|-. 



The wing of this bird is much shorter than that of Fringilla iliaca, 

 which measures Z^^ inches ; its tarsi are longer, but more slender, and 

 its claws are so much longer and more slender, as to suggest at first the 

 idea of its being a Plectrophanes, from which however it differs in the 

 form of the wings. 



