187 



In the Ml of 1884 a single Chesnut-collared Lougspur appeared at 

 Gainesville, Tex., November 3. 



In the spring of 18S5 they were common at Gainesville, Tex., March 5, 

 and some may have wintered there. At Huron, Dak., the first were 

 seen April 2; and at Menoken, Dak., April 15. A single bird was seen 

 at Heron Lake, Minn., May 9. Dr. Agersborg states that it breeds 

 sparingly in southeastern Dakota and abundantly 150 miles farther 

 north. 



539. Rhynchophanes niccownii. (Lawr.). [190.] McCown's Long spur. 



This Longspur is more emphatically a bird of the western Plains than 

 any of the precediug. There is only one record of its occurrence east of 

 the Mississippi, it having been found accidentally at Champaign, 111. 

 The ordinary eastern limit of its range is near the edge of the Plains, in 

 Dakota, Nebraska, western Kansas, and Texas. It does not go so far 

 north as the other species, the Black Hills being near its northern limit. 

 It breeds abundantly in west-central Dakota (Allen). It was found 

 at Caddo, Ind. Ter., January 19, 1881. At Gainesville, Tex., it was 

 recorded as a winter resident, leaving March 12; a small flock was seen 

 March 26, an unusually late date. In western Texas it is an abundant 

 winter resident (Lloyd). At Ellis, Kans., it was found to be a winter 

 visitant and abundant in migration, but whether or not it breeds has 

 not yet been determined. 



In the fall of 1884 a flock of ten McCown's Longspurs appeared at 

 Gainesville, Tex., November 5. 



In the spring of 1885 two females were shot at Gainesville, April 9, 

 and were the last seen. 



In the fall of 1885 the first returned to Gainesville October 27, and it 

 was common by November 2. 



540. Poocaetes gramiiieus (Gmel.). [197.] Vesper Sparrow ; Grass Finch. 



A common breeder from eastern Manitoba to southern Illinois, and a 

 common migrant throughout the Southern States. In the eastern part 

 of Concho County, Tex., Mr. Lloyd states that it is a tolerably com- 

 mon fall migrant. In northeastern Texas, at Gainesville, it was not 

 found in winter ; which fact agrees with Mr. Nehrling's statement, that 

 none remain, so far as tie knows, in the vicinity of Houston, Tex., dur- 

 ing the winter. (Bull. Nutt. Ornith. Club, Yol. VII, 18S2, p. 12.) At 

 Gainesville they arrived March 4, and were seen until April 16. Just 

 north of Gainesville, at Caddo, Ind. Ter., a single bird was seen Feb- 

 ruary 25, but no more until the bulk came March 11. There is some 

 doubt whether these Gainesville specimens are typical gramineus or 

 the western subspecies confinis, but those from Caddo were certainly 

 typical. At Pierce City, Mo., the -first came March'17, and March 22 a 

 pair visited Saint Louis. Then there was a pause, and the species appa- 

 rently made no advance until the first week in April. April 10 it was 

 seen at Lanesboro, Minn. It ranges north even to the Saskatchewan 



