432 
U. S. P. E. E. EXP. AND SUEVEYS — ZOOLOGY GENEEAL EEPOET. 
C. Eiiynchophanes, Baird. 1 — Bill very large at tlie base ; hind claw shorter. No rufous 
nuchal collar. 
Crown black ; shoulders chestnut ; beneath white, with a black pectoral crescent. 
P. maccoivnii. 
The essential characters of the genus, as usually understood, consist in the very long and 
pointed wings ; the moderate, nearly even tail ; the very long, little curved, hind claw. 
Whether the elongated and nearly straight hind claw be not an arbitrary character embracing 
species otherwise dissimilar I do not pretend to decide. Bonaparte considers the P. maccoivnii, 
so totally distinct from the other species, as to warrant a place in a different family. 
Comparative measurements of species. 
jphanes nivalis . 
.do.. 
Pleetroplianes pictus. . 
Plectrophanes ornatus. 
do , 
Plectrophanes melano- 
.do. 
do 
Plectrophanes maccov 
Norll) America 
Philadelphia 
Dane county, Wis. . 
50 miles west Fort 
Leavenworth 
.... do ..... 
Fort Union, N. M 
Pembina, Minn 
Furt Union 
Mexico 
New Mexico 
Mimbres to RioGrandi 
New Mexico 
4.24 
4.14 
3.81 
10.75 3.75 
3.40 
3.42 
3.14 
3.26 
3.26 
3.27 
3.40 
3.24 
3.36 
broke n oft". 
0.64 
0.72 
0.72 
0 23 
0.16 
0.20 
0.18 
PLECTEOPHANES NIVALIS, Meyer. 
Snow Bunting. 
Emberiza nivalis, L. Syst. Nat. I, 1766, 308. (Not Fringilla nivalis, L.) — Forster, Phila. Trans. LXII, 1772,403.- 
Wilson, Am. Orn. Ill, 1811, 86 ; pi. xxi.— Aud. Orn. Biog. II, 1834, 575 : V, 1839, 496 ; pi. 189. 
Emberiza {Plectrophanes) nivalis, Bon Obs. 1825, No. 89 
" Plectrophanes nivalis, Meyer."— Bon. List, 1838.— Aud. Syn. 1839, 103.— Ib. Birds Amer. Ill, 1841, 55; pi. 155. 
Emberiza montana, Gmelin, Syst. I, 1788, 867, 25. 
Emberiza mustelina, Gmelin, Syst. I, 1788, 867, 7. 
Emberiza glacialis, Latham, Ind. Orn. I, 1790, 398 
S P Ch. — Colors, in full plumage, entirely black and white. Middle of back between scapulars, terminal half of primaries and 
tertiaries, and two innermost tail feathers, black ; elsewhere pure white. Legs black at all seasons. In winter dress white beneath ; 
the head and rump yellowish brown, as also some blotches on the side of the breast ; middle of back brown, streaked with black ; 
white on wings and tail much more restricted. Length, about 6.75 ; wing, 4 35 ; tail, 3.05 ; first quill longest. 
Hub — Northern America from Atlantic to Pacific ; south into the United States in winter. 
This species varies much in color, and the male in full plumage is seldom if ever seen within 
the limits of the United States. 
' It is my impression that Bonaparte has proposed a name for this section in removing it to another family, but I am unable 
to find it. 
