187 
In the fall of 1884 a single Chesnut-collared Longspur appeared at 
Gaivesville, Tex., November 3. 
In the spring of 1885 they were common at Gainesville, Tex., March 5, 
and some may have wintered there. At Huron, Dak., the first were 
seen April 2; and at Menoken, Dak., April 15. A single bird was seen 
at Heron Lake, Minn., May 9. Dr. Agersborg states that it breeds 
sparingly in southeastern Dakota and abundantly 150 miles farther 
north. 
539. Rhynchophanes mecownii. (Lawr.). [190.] MeCown’s Longspur. 
This Longspur is more emphatically a bird of the western Plains than 
any of the preceding. There is only one record of its occurrence east of 
the Mississippi, it having been found accidentally at Champaign, Ill. 
The ordinary eastern limit of its range is near the edge of the Plains, in 
Dakota, Nebraska, western Kansas, and Texas. It does not go so far 
north as the other species, the Black Hills being near its northern limit. 
It breeds abundantly in west-central Dakota (Allen). It was found 
at Caddo, Ind. Ter., January 19, 1884. At Gainesville, Tex., it was 
recorded as a winter resident, leaving March 12; a small flock was seen 
March 26, an unusually late date. In western Texas it is an abundant 
winter resident (Lloyd). At Ellis, Kans., it was found to be a winter 
visitant and abundant in migration, but whether or not it breeds has 
not yet been determined. 
In the fall of 1881 a flock of ten McCown’s Longspurs appeared at 
Gainesville, Tex., November 5. 
In the spring of 1885 two females were shot at Gainesville, April 9, 
and were the last seen. 
In the fall of 1885 the first returned to Gainesville October 27, and it 
was common by November 2. 
540. Poocetes gramineus (Gmel.). [197.] Vesper Sparrow ; Grass Finch. 
A common breeder from eastern Manitoba to southern Illinois, and a 
common migrant throughout the Southern States. In the eastern part 
of Concho County, Tex., Mr. Lloyd states that it is a tolerably com- 
mon fall migrant. In northeastern Texas, at Gainesville, it was not 
found in winter; which fact agrees with Mr. Nehrling’s statement, that 
none remain, so far as he knows, in the vicinity of Houston, Tex., dur- 
ing the winter. (Bull. Nutt. Ornith. Club, Vol. VII, 1882, p.12.) At: 
Gainesville they arrived March 4, and were seen until April16. Just 
north of Gainesville, at Caddo, Ind. Ter., a single bird was seen Feb- 
ruary 25, but no more until the bulk came March 11. There is some 
doubt whether these Gainesville specimens are typical gramineus or 
the western subspecies confinis, but those from Caddo were certainly 
typical. At Pierce City, Mo., the first came March 17, and March 22 a 
pair visited Saint Louis. Then there was a pause, and the species appa- 
rently made no advance until the first week in April. April 10 it was 
seen at Lanesboro, Minn. It ranges north even to the Saskatchewan 
