420 PEINGILLID^. 



records it from this locality ^, and Mr. White procured it from the vicinity of the city 

 of Mexico ''. 



Dr. Coues gives an excellent account of C. ornatus in his ' Birds of the North West '3, 

 from which it would appear that it is an abundant and characteristic species of the 

 Missouri region of the United States, and that it is found far north in the interior of 

 the British possessions. It breeds on the ground, making a slight nest composed of 

 dry grass and stems of small plants. The eggs are white, blotched and streaked with 

 rusty colour. 



Bhynchophanes maccowni is casually mentioned in the recently published ' Check- 

 List of North- American Birds ' as occurring in Mexico, but we lack authority for the 

 statement. Dr. Coues, writing in 1874 (B. N. W. p. 125), says he had no account of 

 its occurrence in Mexico, nor have we at the present time. As this bird is found in 

 Texas its occasional presence in Mexico is very probable. 



CAEPODACUS. 



Carpodacus, Kaup, Ent. ewe. TMerw. p. 161 (1839) ; Baird, Brew., & Eidgw. N. Am. B. i. p. 459; 

 Coues, Key N. Am. B. ed. 2, p. 346. 



Carpodacus, including the subgenera Propasser and Pyrrhoplectes, contains about 

 fifteen species. These are spread over the whole of the Palsearctic and Nearctic Eegions, 

 being well represented in Central Asia and the slopes of the Himalayas. Five species 

 are found in the Nearctic Region, of which three occur within the limits of Mexico, 

 where they are restricted to the higher plains of the interior or the extreme northern 

 frontier. 



Carpodacus cassini, which belongs to the same section of the genus as the better- 

 known C. purpureus, has the culmen of the bill nearly straight, the tomia is nearly 

 straight, the bill being somewhat turgid below the nostrils ; these are round with a 

 membrane along the upper edge, a tuft of short decurved bristly feathers covers the 

 nasal fossa. The feet are weak, the tarsus being shorter than the middle toe and claw. 

 The wings are long and pointed, the first, second, and third quills being subequal and 

 forming the wing-point ; the longest secondaries are a little longer than the shortest 

 primaries. The tail is much shorter than the wing and moderately forked. 



The bill of C. hmmorrhous has the culmen much more curved, and there is a small 

 dentate process at the angle of the tomia. The nostrils are rather more exposed, the 

 short decurved feathers proceeding from the base of the forehead being shorter. The 

 tail is more even and the feathers narrower. 



1. Carpodacus cassiui. 



Carpodacus cassini, Baird, Pr. Ac. Phil. 1854, p. 119'; Scl. & Salv. P. Z. S. 1869, p. 362'; Baird, 

 Brew., and Ridgw. N. Am. B. i. p. 460*; Coues, B. N. W. p. 106*; Key N. Am. B. ed. 2, 

 p. 347' ; Check-List N. Am. B. p. 256 \ 



