DICKCISSEL. 333 



Genus SPIZA Bonaparte. 

 SPIZA AMERICANA (Gmel.). 



242. Dickcissel. (604) 



Malt : — Above, grayish-brown ; the middle of the back, streaked with 

 black ; the hind neck, ashy, becoming on the crown yellowish-olive, with black 

 touches ; a yellow superciliary line and maxillary touch of the same ; eyelid, 

 white ; ear coverts, ashy ; chin, white ; throat, with a large jet black patch ; 

 under parts in general, white, shaded on the sides, extensively tinged with 

 yellow on the breast and belly ; edge of wing, yellow ; lesser and middle 

 coverts, rich chestnut, the other coverts and inner secondaries edged witli 

 paler ; bill, dark horn blue ; feet, brown. Female : — Smaller ; above, like the 

 male, but head and neck plainer ; below, less tinged with vellow, the black 

 throat patch wanting and replaced by sparse sharp maxillary and pectoral 

 streaks. Length, (i^-T ; wing, 2J ; tail, 2|. 



Hab. — Eastern United States to the Rocky Mountains, north to Massa- 

 chusetts, New York, Wisconsin and Minnesota, and south m winter through 

 Central America to Northern South America. 



Nest, on the ground or in a low bush, built of leaves and fine grass. 



Eggs, four or five, greenish-white, sometimes speckled with redilish-brown. 



The only record we have at pre.sent of the Black-throated Bunting 

 as a bird of Ontario is that furnished by Mr. Saunders, in the Auk, 

 for Jul)', 1885, page -307. The writer describes finding the species 

 in June, 1884, at Point Pelee, at the west end of Lake Erie. The 

 birds were tolerably common and evidently breeding, one or two 

 pairs being in every field within a limited district, but it was only 

 after considerable waiting and watching that the party succeeded in 

 discovering a nest with five fresh eggs. 



It is just possible that "Dickcissel," like some others, having 

 reached the north shore of Lake Erie, may come along as far as 

 Lake Ontario, but it is rather a weakly, tender species, and we 

 hardly expect to see it much north of the present limit, although 

 there are several records of its capture in Massachusetts and Con- 

 necticut. 



