BIRDS —PEINGILLIDAE — COTUKNICULUS HENSLOWI. 



451 



List of specimens. 



COTUKNICULUS HENSLOWI, B o n a p . 



Henslow's Bunting. 



Emhenzahenslowi, Aud. Orn. Biog. I, 1831, 360 ; pi. 77.— Ib. Syn. 1839, 104.— Is. Birds Araer. Ill, 1841, 75 ; pi. 



163.— Ndttall, Man. I, 1832. App. 

 Coturniculus henslowi, Bon. List, 1838. — Ib. Conspectus, 1850, 481. 

 Fringillahenalowi, Nvttall, Man. I, (2d ed.) 1840, 571. 



Sp. Ch. — ^Upper parts yellowish brown. The hood, neck, and upper parts of back tinged with greenish yellow. Inter- 

 scapular feathers dark brown, suffused externally with bright brownish red ; each feather with grayish borders. Tertiaries, 

 rump, and tail feathers abruptly dark brown centrally, the color obscurely margined with dark red. Crown with a broad black 

 spotted stripe on each side ; these spots continued down to the back. Two narrow black maxillary stripes on each side the head , 

 and an obscure black crescent behind the auriculars. Under parts light brownish yellow, paler on the throat and abdomen. 

 The upper part of the breast, and the sides of the body, conspicuously streaked with black. Edge of wing yellow. A strong 

 tinge of pale chestnut on the wings and tail. Length, 5.25 ; wing, 2.15 ; tail, 3.15. 



Hah, — Eastern United States as far north as Washington ; westward to the Loup Fork of Platte, 



There are few birds whose colors are more difficult to describe than those of Coturniculus 

 henslowi and passerinus. Far from having exhausted all the varied patterns and tints of the 

 present species, I have, however, given enough to show the principal differences from its allies. 



The bill is very thick and large ; the wings very short ; the tertiaries as long as the primaries ; 

 the first five primaries nearly equal. The tail feathers are stiff, very narrow, and acute ; pointed 

 on both webs ; the tail itself considerably graduated. 



A specimen from Kansas (5716) has the under part dirty white ; the spots smaller, fewer, and 

 more sharply defined. The distinct spots on the breast, and the yellowish head and neck above, 

 without ashy margin, will readily distinguish this species from C. passerinus; the reddish being 

 also confined to the interscapular region. The form of the two is, however, much the same. 

 • Western specimens are paler in tint, with the streaks on the under parts smaller and narrower. 



