CHRYSOMITEIS PINUS, PINE LINNET. 115 



I am now inclined to the opinion, that my My. fuscescena, originally tlescribed from 

 Labmdor as a distinct species, and subsequently, in the Key, reduced To a variety, will 

 finally prove to have been based merely upon the midsummer plumage of ordinary 

 linaria. At this season the whole plumage becomes much darker — partially as a me- 

 chanical effect of the wearing away of the lighter e(lj;iugs of the feathers^tbe bill.' 

 hlaclcens, and the nasal plumulw are somewhat deficient. This would correspond pre- , 

 cisely with the now determined summer condition of Leiwuxiidf tephrncotis. Var. 

 exUipes is better marked ; it appears to consist of the more nearly stationary individn- ' 

 als, this particular form having been rarely, if ever, observed in the United States. 

 The small size of the bill and feet, heavy nasal plimmlai, and hoariness of plumage, all ^ - 

 indicate a boreal race. By those who separate tbe Greenland ^' canescens" as a species, , 

 eiiUpes is rated as a variety of the latter ratUer than of linaria ; but the Greenland bird * 

 may be merely one link in a chain, rather better marked than usual, in consequence of - 

 its isolation and continual subjection, for an indefinite period, to special modifying in- ' 

 fluences. The synonymy of exilipcs is as follows ; 



Zinota horcaUs, Bp., List, 1838, 34. '' 



Fringiila borealis, Arc, Orn. Biog. v, 1839, 87, pi. 400 ; vec Vieill. > ;' 



Linaria horealis, AuD., B. Am. iii, 1841, 120, pi. 178 ; nee Temm. j _ 



Mgiotltus eaiiescens, Ross, Edinb. Phil. Journ. 1861, 163 ; ««■ Anct. ,-, . 



JEgiotkus exilipcs, Coijus, Pr. Phila. Acad. 1861, 385 ; lwi9, lf-7.— Eli.iot, B. N. A. pi. 9. ' . 

 JEgiothus linaria var. ccilipcs, COUES, Key, 1872, 131, pi. 3, f. 6. 

 JEgiothiis canescens var exilipes, EiDGW., Mss.— B. B. & E., N. A. B. i, 1874, 493, pi. 22, f, ?. 



In Minnesota, according to Mr. Trippe, "the Lesser Eed-poll appesn^ 

 in vast numbers about tbe middle of October, and remains dnriug the 

 entire winter, proceeding northward, however, some weeks before the 

 Snow Buntings and Longspurs.'' The Eed-poll lays four or five eggs of 

 a pale bluish-green color, speckled chiefly in a wreath round the large, 

 end with confluent blotches of pale-reddish brown, purplish-brown, and 

 a few darker brown tints. Sometimes' an egg is obsoletely freckled all 

 over with pale reddish-brown. The size is about 0.70 by 0.50. Great 

 numbers were observed, and many specimens secured, by Lieutenant 

 Mullan's Expedition, while surveying for a military road from Walla- 

 Walla to Fort Bridger. Like other species of this roving tribe, the Eed- 

 poll may be expected to occur in winter, at irregular periods, throughout 

 the greater part, if not the whole, of the Missouri region. A consider- 

 able flock made their appearance at Fort Eandall, Dakota, in the early 

 part of March, and remained for several days. 



The same gentleman writes me that he saw large flocks, in the latter 

 part of November, in Western Kansas and Eastern Colorado, feeding on 

 the seeds of various prairie weeds. In Clear Creek County, Colorado, 

 it is "abundant in winter and spring, ranging from the foot-hills up to 

 10,000 feet, and probably somewhat higher. The Lesser Eed-poll haunts 

 the willow and alder thickets along the brooks, and also the poplar 

 groves on the hill-sides. About the middle of April it disappears, re- 

 turning late in JSTovember or December." 



CHRYSOMITEIS PINUS, (Wils.) Bp. , 

 Pine linnet. 



Fringiila pinus, Wils., Am. Orn. ii, 1810, 133, pi. 17, f. 1.— Bp., Syn. 1828, 111.— Nutt., 

 Man. i, 1832, 511.— Add., Orn. Biog. ii, 1834, 45.5; v, 509; pi. 180. 



Linaria pinus, AuD., Syn. 1839, 117 ; B. Am. iii, 1841, 125, pi. 180.— GiR., B. L. L 1844, 115. 



Chrysomifris pinus, Bp., List, 1838, 33 ; Consp. Av. i, 1850, 515.— Bd., B. N. A. 1858, 425.— 

 Coop. & Sock., N. H. Wash. Ter. 1860, 197 (summer).— Hayd., Rep. 1862, 165.- 

 SCL. & Salv., p. Z. S. 1869, 362 (city of Mexico).— Sumich , Mem. Bost. Soc. 

 i, 1869, 550 (plateau and alpine region of A'era Cruz).- Coop., B. Cal. i, 1870, 

 173.— Allen, Bull. M. C. Z. iii, 1872, 176 (mountains of Colorado, up to timber- 

 line, in summer, doubtless breeding).— Aiken, Pr. Bost. Soc. 1872, 199 (Wyo- 

 ming).— Merr., U. S. Geol. Surv. Ter. 1872, 679.— Finsch, Abh. Nat. iii, 1872, 

 60 (Alaska).— CouES, Key, 1872, 131, pi. 3, f. 11, 12— B. B. & E., N. A. B. i, 1874, 

 480, pi. 22, f. 16 ; also of late local writers. 



Chrysomifris macroptera, Ddbds, Esquisses Orn. pi. 23.— Bp., Consp. Av. i, 1850, 515 

 (Mexico ; no tangible characters). 



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