212 BULLETIN 50, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 



to the ve'ry decided basal deflection, the angle usually rounded, but in 

 one species {A. hendovj/') conspicuously toothed. Nostril in lower 

 anterior portion of nasal fossse, at least partially exposed, more or less 

 pointed anteriorly, and overhung by membrane; rictal bristles distinct. 

 Wing short, about two and two-thirds to three times as long as tarsus; 

 eighth to sixth, or (in A. viaritimus) seventh to fifth primaries 

 longest, the ninth shorter than third {A. marltlmus), or equal to 

 sixth or fifth (other species); primaries decidedly longer than sec- 

 ondaries; tertials not elongated. Tail nearljr or (in A. leconteii) quite 

 as long as wing, decidedl}^ graduated, the retrices narrow and more or 

 less sharply acuminate. Tarsus equal to or slightly longer than middle 

 toe with claw; lateral claws falling decidedly short of base of middle 

 claw; inner toe slightly longer than outer; hallux not longer than 

 lateral toes. 



C'oloratii))!.. — Above varying from nearlj' uniform olive-grayish or 

 blackish to conspicuoush" spotted with black, brown, or chestnut, and 

 streaked with bufly, the median rectrices light brownish or grayish 

 with a median stripe or streak of dusky; beneath whitish or buff and 

 white, the chest, sides, and flanks more or less streaked with black or 

 grayish; edge of wing usually yellow (white in ^4. leconteii). 



Range. — Eastern and central temperate North America. 



The four species to which I have, after careful examination and com- 

 parison, concluded to restrict the genus Ammodraimm agree fairly 

 well in structural and other characters. Two of them, however, are 

 much less closely related than are the other two, being not only quite 

 different from one another in structural details but from the other two 

 as well. These aberrant species are A. niaritinvu.s and A. Iienslowii. 

 The former, while agreeing rather closely with the type-species {A. 

 caudacutus) in longer and relative)}^ more slender bill, and to a consid- 

 erable degree in coloration, differs in its veiy much rounded wing-tip, 

 the ninth primary being not longer than the third, instead of being 

 equal to the sixth and fifth, as in all the others. A. henslowii has a 

 very much stouter bill than any of the rest, and the subbasal angle of 

 the mandibular tomia is distinctly toothed — a character possessed by 

 none of its congeners; in other respects, however, it comes vei'y close 

 to A. leconteii, which is closely related to A. caudacutu.s, through its 

 smaller and small-billed subspecies, A. cavdcccutiiJi nelsoni. -A. leconteii 

 is the only species having the tail and wing of the same length, all the 

 others having the wing slightly but decidedly the longer. 



KEY TO THE SPECIES AND SUBSPECIES OP AMMODRAMUS. 



a. Pileum without a distinct light-colored median stripe ; no chestnut or rufous on 

 scapulars nor interscapulars; leet dusky or horn-colored 

 h. Outermost (ninth) primary not longer than fourth (usually shorter); larger 

 (tarsus averaging more than 21.59). 



