892 



SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. —PASSEBES— OSCINES. 



92. 



Fig. 253. — iDcligo-bird, reduced. 

 SPERMO'PHILA. (Gi. 



{Sheppard del. Nichols sc. ) 



no whitish wing-bars; upper mandible blackish, lower pale, \vith the black stripe just 

 mentioned, — this is a pretty constant feature, and will distinguish the species from any of our 

 Eastern Uttle brown birds. Young ^ : Like the ? , but soon shows blue traces, and afterward 



is blue with white variegation below. 

 Size of the foregoing. Eastern U. S., N. 

 to Maine and Canada ; W. to Kansas, 

 Indian Tenitory, and Texas ; winters 

 wholly extralimital ; breeds throughout 

 its N. A. range. Abundant in fields and 

 open woodland, in summer ; a well mean- 

 ing hut rather weak vocalist, whose low 

 rambling strain is delivered as if the little 

 performer were tired or indifferent. Nest 

 in the crotch of a bush, large for the size 

 of the bird, and not at all artistic ; eggs 

 usually 4-.5, averaging 0.72 X 0.52, white 

 with a flint blue shade, and normally 

 plain, though not seldom a little speckled. 

 a-!Tepfj.a, sperma, seed; (jiCXos, philos, loving.) Pygmy Finches. 

 Bill like that of a bullfinch in miniature, short and extremely turgid ; swollen in all directions, 

 culmen convex nearly in the sextant of a circle ; cutting edge of upper mandible very concave ; 

 gonys short, about straight in outline. Wings short and greatly rounded ; 2d-4th ciuills 

 longest, 1st, 5th, and even 6th, little shorter, and secondaries nearly covering primaries in the 

 closed wing. Tail rather shorter than wings, slightly rounded, -with abruptly pointed tips of 

 the feathers. Tarsus equal to middle toe and claw, and lateral toes to each other, their claws 

 about reaching base of middle claw. A large C. and S. Am. genus of pygmy finches, one of 

 which reaches our border ; our most diminutive friugUline (but Phonipara is about the same). 

 S. morelet'i. (To one jMorelet.) Morelet's Pygmy Finch. Little Seed-eater. ^ : 

 Top and sides of head, back of -neck, broad band across upper part of breast, middle of back, 

 wiugs, and taU, black ; chin, upper throat, neck nearly all around, rump, and remaining under 

 parts, white, the latter often tinged with pale buff; two Mang-bands, and bases of all the quills, 

 also white, that on the secondaries hidden by the coverts, that on the primaries forming an 

 exposed spot ; inner secondaries usually edged with white ; tail-feathers sometimes with 

 obscurely whitish tip. Bill blue-black ; feet dark. 9 olivaceous-brown above, brownish- 

 yellow or dull buff below ; wings with whitish bars, but no white bases of quills ; bill brown; 

 feet dark. Length about 4.00 ; wing 2.00-2.10 ; tail 1.90 ; tarsus O.GO. Mexico to Texas, in 

 the Lower Rio Grande valley. 



PHONI'PARA. (Gr. (/)aji/7j,p/20«e, sound, voice; Lat. jjano, I produce : badly formed.) GRASS 

 Quits. Bill small, acute, culmen slightly convex, commissure about straight to the angulation 

 at base. Wings short, rounded, 2d-5th primaries subeciual and little longer than 1st, 6th, 7th. 

 Tail stiU shorter, about even. Tarsus if anything shorter than middle toe and claw ; lateral 

 toes subequal to each other in length, scarcely reaching base of middle toe. A West Indian 

 genus of diminutive finches, one of which occurs in Florida. 

 397. P. ze'na. (Vox barb.; perhaps proper name.) Black-paced Grass Quit. ^, adult: 

 Upper parts, including exposed surfaces of wings and tail, duU olivaceous, passing on the face, 

 throat, and breast, into sooty-black, fading on other under parts into oHve-gray, more or less 

 varied with whitish ; wings and tail unmarked ; no decided demarcation of colors anywhere. 

 Bill blue-black ; feet dark brown. 9 lighter olivaceous, passing to olive-ashy where the ^ 

 is black; bill pale below; feet light brown. Length about 4.00 ; wing 2.00-2.10 ; tail 1.75. 

 West Indies and Florida. One of the common house finches in various West Indian Islands ; 



296. 



93. 



