282 



NORTHERN ZOOLOGY. 



DESCRIPTION 



Of a male, killed May 28, 1827, on the Saskatchewan. 



Colour. — Head, nape, sides of the neck, throat, breast, and a few of the vent feathers, 

 bright saffron-yellow. Primary and six greater secondary coverts white, tipped with black. 

 The orbits, lores, and the remainder of the plumage velvet-black. Bill and legs pitch- 

 black. — Some male specimens have the yellow plumage of the top of the head fringed with 

 black.— R. 



Form. — Bill rather stouter in proportion than that of A. phceniceus, the base of the 

 culmen flattened, but the contour very slightly arched : the tip of the upper mandible 

 slightly depressed, and entire. First, second, and third quills nearly equal: some of the 

 lesser quills sinuated at the tip of the outer web; and others, towards the tertials, shew a 

 tendency to form an obsolete point in the middle. Tail very slightly rounded. Legs very 

 long: the tarsi proportionally longer than those of A. phoeniceus: claws shorter, and but 

 slightly curved. — Sw. 



The female is described by the Prince of Musignano* as being eight inches and a quarter 

 long. The general colour uniform dark brown, the edges of the feathers somewhat lighter. 

 No white on the wing. Frontlet and supra and infraorbital lines, which unite on the ears, 

 greyish-ferruginous. Chin and throat whitish. A large rounded patch of vivid-yellow on 

 the breast. 



Dimensions 



Of the male. 



Inch. Lin. 



Length total . . 10 6 Length of bill to rictus 



„ of tail . .46 ,, of tarsus . 



„ of wing . .56 ,, of middle toe . 



„ of bill above . 10 



Inch. Lin. 



. 10| Length of middle claw 



1 4£ „ of hind toe . 



.1 ,, of hind claw . 



lurli. Lin. 

 . 4 

 7 

 • 4* 



Some males are an inch and a half longer than the preceding : their members in pro- 

 portion. 



[89.] 1. Sturnella Ludoviciana. (Swainson.) Crescent Starelet. 



Sub-family, Agelainse, Swains. Genus, Sturnella, Vieil. 



Crescent Stare. Penn. Arct. ZooL, ii., p. 330, No. 192. 



Meadow Lark (Alauda magna). Wils., iii., p. 20, pi. 19, f. 2. 



Sturnella collaris. Vieil. Gal. des Ois., pi. 90. 



Sturnus Ludovicianus. Sab. Frankl. Journ., p. 674. Bonap. Syn., p. 50, No. 48. 



Peesteh-atchewusson. Cree Indians. 



This beautiful bird arrives about the 1st of May on the Saskatchewan, be- 

 yond which it was not seen by us : it is only partially migratory in Pennsylvania. 



* Through some accident, we brought home no female specimens of this bird. — R. 



