FRINGILLID^Is;, FINCHES, ETC. GEN. 77, 78. 147 



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O * 77. Genus PASSERELLA Swainson. 



Fox Sjiarrou\ General color fernig-ineous or rusty red, purest and 

 brightest on the rump, tail and wings, on the otlier upper parts appearing as 

 streaks laid ou an ashy ground ; l)eh:)W, white, A^ariously but thickly marked 

 except on the belly and crissum with rusty red — -the markings anteriorly in 

 the form of diffuse confluent blotches, on the breast and 

 sides consisting chiefly of shar[) sagittate spots and pointed 

 streaks; tips of middle and greater coverts forming two 

 whitish wing-bars; upper mandible dark, lower mostly 

 yellow; feet pale — -the lateral toes so lengthened that the 

 tips of their claws fall far beyond the base of the middle 

 claw; this is a diagnostic feature, not shared by any other Ym.'n. r.m of Fox 

 streaked sparrow. A large handsome species. Gi-7i long; spunow. 



wing and tail, each, 3 or more; sexes alike, and young not particularly 

 dilferent. Eastern North America, abundant. AVils., iii, 53, pi. 24, f. 4; 

 NuTT., i, 514; Aud., iii, 139, pi. 18G ; Bd., 488. P. oiscMra Vekrill, 



Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist, ix, 18(J2, p. 143 iliaca. 



j/(^ Var. TOWNSEXDii. Witli tlie same size and pattern of coloration, but darl^er ; 

 above, conthmous olive-brown, witfi a rusty sliade ; ramp, tail and wings rather 

 brigfiter ; no whitish wing-bars ; below, the markings of the color of the back, 

 close,' aud ilfy defnied. Pacific coast. Aud., iii, 143, pi. 187; Nutt., i, 2ded. 

 533 ; Bd., 489 ; Coop., 221. 



Var. sciiiSTACEA. Similar to the last; above continuous slate-gra}^, with little 

 rufous on wings and tail, the spots l^elow slate-colored, sparse, small, sharp. 

 Rocky Mountain region, U. S. Bd., 490, 925, pi. GO, f. 3, 4 {megarhi/nchus — large- 

 billed form from Gala.) ; Coop., 222. 



Obs. p. scJiistacea and townseiulii are certainly not distinct specificallj^ from each 

 other, but it may be 'a question whether they do not form two races of a species 

 different from iliaca. In all three cases, however, the difference is solely in the 

 relative intensity and predominance of certain common colors ; and although the 

 Western and Eastern forms may not have been shown to intergrade, they differ from 

 each other less than some of the recognized varieties of Melospiza do from tlie East- 

 ern song sparrow, and in a parallel manner. 



78. Genus CALAMOSPIZA Bonaparte. 

 i? ^ Lark Bunting. Whlte-iuinged Blachhird . $ entirely black, with a 

 large white patch on the wings, and the quills and tail feathers frequently 

 marked with white ; bill dark horn above, paler below ; feet brown ; & — (!>^ ; 

 wing 3J ; tail 2f . Sexes unlike : ? resembling one of the sparrows, brown 

 above, streaked, white below, somewhat streaked, but always known by the 

 whitish wing-patch; $ said to wear the black plumage only during the 

 breeding season, like the bobcdink (Alien). In the form of the bill, this 

 interesting species is closely allied to the grosl)caks (Gonicqjhea) ; and this, 

 with the singularly enlarged tertiaries, as long as the primaries in the closed 

 wing, renders it unmistakable in any plumage. A prairie bird, abundant on 



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