ICTERID^, AMERICAN STARLKVGS. GEN. 86. 153 



, U . Yar. cRissALis. Similar to tlie first ; crown like the bads: ; rather darker above, 

 decidedly so below, the middle of the Ijclly scarcely or not whitening, the giilar 

 fulvous strong and, with its duskv streaks, deflnitely restricted to the throat ; the 

 flanks and crissum chestnut or deep cinnamon Ijrowu. Upwards of inches long ; 

 wing 4 ; tail 5; J rather less. Coast region of California (and northward?), 

 abundant. This is the dark coast form, bearing the same relation to fuscas 

 (mesoleucus) that the coast Harporlujnclms redivlvus bears to the paler //. lecontii of 

 the interior. It is the F. f uncus of Cass., 111. 124, pi. 17 ; Bd., 517 ; Cooi'., 215, 

 but not the true /((sc»s of Swainson ; and its earliest name appears to be FriwjiUa 

 crisscdis Vigors, Zool. Voy. Blossom, 1839, 19. 

 ^ (jI Abert's Towhee. Somewhat similar to the foregoing species of this sec- 

 tion; no decided markings any where. Dull brown, paler and more fulvous 

 below, the face dushy ; otherwise nearly uniform. Very large, 9; wing 4 

 or less ; tail 5 or more. New Mexico and Arizona ; abundant in the Colorado 

 Valley; Coues, Pr. Phila. Acad. 18G6, 90. Bd., 516 ; Coop., 244. abeutii. 

 *** Colors greenish ; sexes alike. 

 ;, ( Green-tailed, or Blanding's Finch. Above dull olive-green, brighter on 

 the wings and tail, crown chestnut, forehead blackish, edge of wing yellow; 

 chin and throat pure white, bounded by dusky maxillary stripes, and con- 

 trasting with the dark ash of the breast and sides of head and neck (very 

 much as iu the white-throated sparrow) ; this ash fades to white on the 

 belly; the flanks and crissum are washed with dull brownish; bill dark 

 horn, feet brown ; about 1\ long ; wing 3^ ; tail rather more. In the young 

 the markings, especially of the head and throat, may be obscure, but the 

 species is unmistakable. Rocky Mountain region, U. S. and southward, 

 northeast to Kansas; abundant. AuD., Orn. Biog. v, 339 ; Cass., III., 70, 

 pi. 12; Bd., 519; Coop., 250 chlokuuus. 



86. Genus EMBERNAGRA Lesson. 



;1/:'Y Green Finch. "Above uniform olivaceous green ; sides of the hood and 

 a stripe behind eye, dull brownish rufous, not very conspicuous ; an ashy 

 superciliary stripe, rather yellowish anteriorly ; under parts brownish-white, 

 tinged with yellowish anteriorl}', and with olivaceous on the sides, white iu 

 the middle of the belly ; edge of wing, under coverts and axiliaries, l)right 

 yellow. Length 51 ; wing 2| ; tail 2%. Valley of the Rio Grande, and 

 probably of the Gila, and southward." Bd., 487. . . . uufivikgata. 



Family ICTERID.S]. Araerican Starlings. 



A family of moderate extent, confined to America, where it represents the 

 Stnrnidce, or Starlings, of the Old World. It is nominall}^ composed of a hundred 

 and fifty species, half of which may pro^'C valid, distributed among fifty genera or 

 subo-enera, of which one-fourth may be considered worthy of retention. The 

 relationships are very close with the Frivgillidce on the one hand ; on the other, 

 they o-rade toward the crows {Coroidu'). They share with the fringilline birds the 

 characters of angulated commissure and nine developed primaries, and this distin- 



KEY TO N. A. BIRDS. 20 



