FINCHES SPARROWS 



.rfX" 



(601) Passerina ciris 



{Linn.) {Gr., name for a kind of finch). 



PAINTED BUNTING; NON- 

 PAREIL. ylfZ. c? — P I u m a g e as 

 shown by the lower bird, very bril- 

 liant and striking; head intense blue; 

 eyelids, rump and entire under parts 

 red, brightest on the throat and 

 breast; back greenish-yellow. Ad. 

 9 — As shown by the upper bird; 

 greenish-gray above and soiled whit- 

 ish below; no conspicuous markings 

 anywhere. L., 5.25; W., 2.70; T., 

 2.15; B., .40. Nest — Of grasses, 

 leaves, bark and rootlets, compressed 

 and woven together; in bushes, usu- 

 ally in tangled thickets; four whitish 

 eggs, specked and blotched with 

 brown, .78 x .58. 



Range — Southeastern U. S.; north 

 to N. Car. and Mo. Winters in Baha- 

 mas, Cuba and southern Mexico. 



uncommon in eastern Mexico but of only local and rare 

 occurrence in southern Texas. In no respect do their habits 

 differ from the more widely distributed and better known 

 birds of this genus. 



PAINTED BUNTINGS or NONPAREILS, as they are 

 more commonly called, are characteristic finches of the 

 Southern States. They are also, or were until of late years, 

 quite well known in the Northern States as caged birds, for 

 quantities of them were trapped and sold both in this coun- 

 try and in Europe. Fortunately the laws in nearly all our 

 states have put an end to such traffic. Their song is similar 

 to that of the Indigo Bunting but weaker and less interest- 

 ing. They were sold more for the beauty and oddity of 

 their plumage than for their musical abilities. 



Nonpareils are more shy and retiring in their habits than 

 Indigo Buntings. Instead of occupying a commanding 

 position while singing, the males usually are concealed from 

 view by the leafy outer branches of the bushes. Their nests, 



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