392 



SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS.— PASSEBES— OSCINES. 



no whitish, wing-bars; upper mandible blackish, lower pale, with the black stripe just 

 mentioned, — this is a pretty constant feature, and will distinguish the species from any of our 

 Eastern little brown birds. Young $ : Like the ? , but soon shows blue traces, and afterward 



is blue with white variegation below. 

 Size of the foregoing. Eastern U. S., N. 

 to Maine and Canada; W. to Kansas, 

 Indian Territory, and Texas; winters 

 wholly extralimital ; breeds throughout 

 its N. A. range. Abundant in fields and 

 open woodland, in summer ; a well mean- 

 ing but rather weak vocalist, whose low 

 rambling strain is delivered as if the little 

 performer were tired or indifferent. Nest 

 in the crotch of a bush, large for the size 

 of the bird, and not at all artistic ; eggs 

 usually 4-5, averaging 0.72 X 0.52, white 

 with a faint blue shade, and normally 

 plain, though not seldom a little speckled, 

 seed; (^iXos, philos, loving.) Pygmy Finches. 



PiO. 253. —Indigo-bird, reduced. (Sbeppard del. Nlcliols so.) 



92. SPEBMO'PHIIiA. (Gr. imepiui, sperma, 

 Bill like that of a bullfinch in miniature, short and extremely turgid ; swollen in all directions, 

 oulmen convex nearly in the sextant of a circle ; cutting edge of upper mandible very concave ; 

 gonys short, about straight in outline. Wings short and greatly rounded ; 2d-4th quUls 

 longest, 1st, 5th, and even 6th, little shorter, and secondaries nearly covering primaries in the 

 closed wing. Tail rather shorter than wings, slightly rounded, with abruptly pointed tips of 

 the feathers. Tarsus equal to middle toe and claw, and lateral toes to each other, their claws 

 about reaching base of middle claw. A large C. and S. Am. genus of pygmy finches, one of 

 which reaches our border ; our most diminutive fringUline (but Phonipara is about the same). 



296. 8. morelet'i. (To one Morelet.) Morblbt's Pygmy Pinch. Littlb Seed-batbe. ^ : 

 Top and sides of head, back of neck, broad band across upper part of breast, middle of back, 

 wings, and taU, black ; chin, upper throat, neck nearly all around, rump, and remaining under 

 parts, white, the latter often tinged with pale buff ; two wing-bands, and bases of all the quills, 

 also white, that on the secondaries hidden by the coverts, that on the primaries forming an 

 exposed spot ; inner secondaries usually edged with white ; tail-feathers sometimes with 

 obscurely whitish tip. Bill blue-black ; feet dark. 9 olivaceous-brown above, brownish- 

 yellow or dull buff below ; wings with whitish bars, but no white bases of qniUs ; bill brown ; 

 feet dark. Length about 4.00 ; wing 2.00-3.10 ; tail 1.90 ; tarsus 0.60. Mexico to Texas, in 

 the Lower Rio Grande valley. 



93. PHONI'PABA. (Gr. (^<oj/^, p^owe, sound, voice ; Lat. ijorio, I produce : badly formed.) Geass 

 Quits. Bill small, acute, culmen slightly convex, commissure about straight to the angulation 

 at base. Wings short, rounded, 2d-5th primaries subequal and little longer than 1st, 6th, 7th. 

 Tail stiU shorter, about even. Tarsus if anything shorter than middle toe and claw ; lateral 

 toes subequal to each other in length, scarcely reaching base of middle toe. A West Indian 

 genus of diminutive finches, one of which occurs in Florida. 



297. P. ze'na. (Vox bcwb. ; perhaps proper name.) Black-faced Geass Quit. ^, adult: 

 Upper parts, including exposed surfaces of wings and tail, duU olivaceous, passing on the face, 

 throat, and breast, into sooty-black, fading on other under parts into olive-gray, more or less 

 varied vidth whitish ; wings and taU. unmarked ; no decided demarcation of colors anywhere. 

 Bm blue-black ; feet dark brown. 9 lighter olivaceous, passing to olive-ashy where the ^ 

 is black; bill pale below; feet light brown. Length about 4.00 ; wing 2.00-2.10; tail 1.75. 

 West Indies and Florida. One of the common house finches in various West Indian Islands ; 



