FRINGILLINEA. — THE GENERA. 123 
The geographic distribution of these birds is chiefly in 
the cold and temperate regions of Europe, Asia, and 
North America ; very few, in comparison, are found in 
South America; and none have yet been discovered in 
Australia. The sparrows, the buntings, and the chaf- 
finch, of our own country, come within this circle, and 
afford a good idea of the whole group. 
(136.) The two typical genera of this subfamily are 
Fringilla and Emberyza: the three aberrant appear to 
be Pyrgita, Plectrophanes, and Agrophilus. Some uncer- 
tainty hangs over the rank of the latter ; that is to say, 
whether it is the representative of a subgenus or a 
genus, in the sense in which we use these terms. As 
for the others, they may. be considered as demonstrable, 
although we cannot afford the space necessary for proving 
them so. This, indeed, is hardly necessary ; for the 
gradations of forms between the sparrows (Pyrgita), 
chaffiches hil buntings (Emberyza), and long- 
= heels (Plectrophanes,) are well 
= known toevery ornithologist who 
= is acquainted with these groups. 
The sparrows (Pyrgita), as being 
that genus which borders upon 
ba the tanagrine circle, is that only 
which has the upper mandible slightly notched, and the 
culmen rather more curved than the gonys (fig. 169.). 
So little attention has been hitherto paid to these birds, 
either by collectors abroad, or naturalists at home, 
that comparatively very few species are yet known. 
The great similarity of plumage which runs through 
them has perplexed our systematists, while the dulness 
of their colours has deterred the professional collector 
from transmitting them to Europe as articles of profit. 
Hence it is that we cannot, as yet, point out, with 
any degree of certainty, the subgenera. Not so, 
however, with the genus Fringilla, of which we have 
ventured to designate four of the types, namely, Frin- 
gilla, properly so called; Zonotrichia, the American 
chaffinches ; Ammodramus, the sandfinches ; and Chon- 
