FRINGILLIOE. 251 



intermediate coverts pure white, and the upper ones entirely black. The quills and tail 

 brownish-black, with narrow white edges : the two outer pairs of tail feathers white, with their 

 outer tips and inner edges brown. Under plumage entirely of a colour intermediate between 

 wood-brown and buff-orange. Inner wing coverts white. Bill blackish-brown, pale at the 

 base beneath. Legs brown. 



Form typical, but the bill is more acuminated than that of Emb. nivalis and Lapponica: 

 the lower mandible is narrower than the upper one. Palate similar to that of E. Lapponica, 

 with a wider central ridge, and a more distinct rounded tubercle posteriorly. Quills, tail, and 

 feet as in Lapponica. The tail exceeds the wings an inch. 









Dimensions. 















Inch. 



Lin. 





Inch. 



Lin. 





Inch. 



Lin. 



Length total 



. 6 



3 



Length of bill above 







H 



Length of middle toe 



. 



6} 



„ of tail 



2 



6 



„ of bill from rictus 



. 



6k 



„ of middle claw 







n 



„ of folded wing 



. 3 



6 



„ of tarsus 







10 



„ of hind claw . 



. 



H 



[68.] 4. Emberiza pallida. (Swainson.) Clay-coloured Buntling. 



Genus, Emberiza, Linn. 



Ch. Sp. Emberiza pallida, luteo-fusca striis nigrescentibus ; subtus intacta a!ba,capite striis maculosis tribus 



pallidis et duobus nigrescentibus notato, auricularibus fuscescentibus. 

 Sp. Ch. Clay-coloured Buntling, clay-coloured brown, striped with blackish; beneath white, unspotted; 



head with three pale and two blackish macular stripes ; ears brownish. 



This Buntling - , which is even smaller than the Emberiza pusilla of the United 

 States, visits the Saskatchewan in considerable numbers. It frequents the farm- 

 yard at Carlton-house, and is as familiar and confident as the common House 

 Sparrow of England. — R. 



Neither Wilson nor Bonaparte notice this species. It has much of the habit 

 of E. pusilla, which differs, however, very essentially in its more robust and 

 cinnamon-coloured bill, in the chestnut-brown colour of the crown and back, 

 in the bluish-grey tint of the space round the orbit, and in the want of the 

 blackish brown streaks on the head. The tarsi of pusilla are rather longer, 

 and the tail is shorter by nearly a quarter of an inch, yet its wing is rather 

 longer.* — Sw. 



* From socialis our species differs in wanting the bright rufous crown, and in having the ear feathers brown, mar- 

 gined above and below with a darker edge, instead of pure cinereous or lead-colour, without any border. The feet are 

 also generally longer ; the tail likewise is longer ; but in other respects the proportions are equal. From palustris 

 and melodia it is still further removed by a much smaller bill and less robust feet. — Sw. 



2 K 2 



