ARKANSAW GOLDFINCH. 135 



Plumage very soft and blended; short stiffish feathers at the base of the 

 bill. Wings rather long, little concave; the second, third, and fourth prima- 

 ries cut out toward the end; the second longest, the first half a twelfth 

 shorter, the third scarcely a quarter of a twelfth shorter than the second, 

 and exceeding the fourth by a twelfth and a half, the next four and a quarter 

 twelfths shorter; some of the inner primaries and most of the secondaries 

 distinctly emarginate. Tail rather short, deeply emarginate, the feathers 

 obliquely pointed and divaricate. 



Bill flesh-coloured, the upper mandible dusky toward the end. Feet and 

 claws reddish-brown. The upper part of the head is deep black; the hind 

 neck, back, and scapulars yellowish-green, each feather greenish-brown in 

 the centre; the rump greenish-yellow, the upper tail coverts dusky, mar- 

 gined with greenish-yellow, as are the smaller wing-coverts. The other 

 coverts and quills are black; the secondary-coverts broadly tipped with pale 

 yellow, which forms a conspicuous band across the wing; the quills are 

 margined with yellowish-white, the inner more broadly; all the quills, the 

 outer three, and the inner secondaries excepted, are white toward the base. 

 The tail is brownish-black, the feathers narrowly edged with brownish-white, 

 and all, excepting the two middle and the lateral, with a white space at the 

 base, which runs out along the outer margin forming a conspicuous patch. 

 All the lower parts are bright-yellow, but the cheeks and the sides of the 

 neck are tinged with green, and the feathers of the chin are blackish in the 

 centre. 



Length to end of tail 4j inches; extent of wings 8; bill along the ridge 

 xf, along the edge of lower mandible ff; wing from flexure Syg-; tail 2; 

 tarsus y\; hind toe T 4 2 , its claw y| ; middle toe -f|, its claw T \. 



The female is similar to the male, but wants the black patch on the head, 

 that part being green like the back. 



