124 BULLETIN 50, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 



Old World species assigned to the genus/- and it is possible that if 

 all the known species could be examined at once good reasons for a 

 justifiable subdivision of the genus could be found. Of the species 

 examined (including, besides all the American forms, the Palaearctic 

 C. erythi'lnus, C. roseus, and C. thnra^), C. thura is decidedly the most 

 aberrant, in its relatively long tail and shoi't wing — the former nearly 

 equaling the latter in length and the latter decidedlj' less than four 

 times as long as the tarsus — all the others having the tail little if any, 

 more, usually less, than three-fourths as long as the wing and the 

 latter from four and a half to more than five times as long as the 

 tarsus. O. thura is also peculiar in its short, rounded wing-tip, the 

 primaries exceeding the secondaries by less than the length of the 

 tarsus instead of by nearly twice the length of the latter; but it agrees 

 essentially with O. erythrinus and C. mexicanus in the form of the bill. 

 The habits of C. mexicanus are exceedingly difi'erent from those of 

 C. jmrpureus and ('. cassinu, resembling very closely those of the 

 house sparrow (Passer domestlcus), in nearly everj^ respect; but those 

 of O. erythrinus, which comes A-ery close to C. mexicanus in form, 

 appear to be essentially like those of C. j)urpiirevs. 



KEY TO THE SPECIES AND SUBSPECIES OF CAEPODACUS. 



a. Tail deeply emarginate, shorter than wmg by much less than length of tarsus; 

 adult males with wing-feathers edged with reddish; adult females and immature 

 males with upper parts conspicuously streaked with dusky, or else the ground- 

 color decidedly olive or olive-greenish. {Carpodacus.) 

 b. Wing more than 86.36, averaging 91.19; exposed culmen not less than 11.94, 

 usually much more, averaging 12.70; under tail-coverts conspicuously streaked 

 with dusky. (Mountains of western United States south to southern Mexico.) 



Carpodacus cassinii (p. 126) 

 bb. Wing not more than 86.36, averaging not more than 81.79; exposed culmen 

 usually much less than 11.94, averaging not more than. 10.92; under tail- 

 coverts without streaks, or else with only some of the longer feathers 

 ■ streaked. ( Carpodacus purpnreus. ) 

 c. Wing longer (averaging 83.31 in male, 80.26 in female), with ninth primary 

 usually longer than sixth; tail shorter (averaging 58.42); adult male 

 brighter colored, with rump light pinkish wine purple; adult female with 

 general color above olive-grayish. (Eastern North America.) 



Carpodacus purpureas purpureus (p. 128) 

 cc. Wing shorter (averaging 79.76 in male, 77.22 in female), with ninth primary 

 usually shorter than sixth; tail longer (averaging 58.67); adult male 

 darker and duller in color, with rump dark wine purple or maroon 

 purple; adult female with general color above decidedly olive-greenish. 

 (Pacific coast, from southern California to British Colmnbia. ) 



Carpodacus purpureus californicus (p. 130) 



aa. Tail very slightly, if at all, emarginate at tip, shorter than wing by much less 



than length of tarsus; adult males with wing-feathers edged with pale grayish; 



adult females and immature males with upper parts brownish gra\- obsoletely 



streaked with darker. {Burrica.) 



' Except Hiematospiza sipalii, which Dr. Sharpe (Cat. Birds Brit, ilus., vol. xii., pp. 

 388, 097) refers to Carpodacus, taut which certainly possesses excellent generic 

 characters. 



^ Since the above Avas written C. severtzori, C. rhododikiini/x, C. (jrandis, and C. 

 stolitzkx have been received at the U. S. National Museum. 



