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U. S. P. R. R. EXP. AND SURVEYS — ZOOLOGY — GENERAL REPORT. 
PLECTROPHANES MELANOMUS, Baird. 
Sp. C'h. — Bill yellowish, dark brown along the culmen. Crown, a short stripe behind the eye, and a short crescent behind 
the ear coverts, entire breast as far back as the thighs, and the lesser wing coverts, black. The black on the breast margined 
with dark cinnamon. Sides of head, chin, throat, and region behind the black of the belly, white. A broad half collar of dark 
cinnamon brown on the back of the neck. Tail feathers mostly white ; the innermost tipped with dark brown ; the white ending 
in an acute angle. Length, 5.30 ; wing, 3.40 ; tail, 2.60. (No. 6290.) 
Hab.— Eastern slope of the Rocky mountains, Mexico, on the table lands. 
This species is exceedingly similar in size and color to the Plectrophanes ornatus, although 
readily distinguished by certain characteristics. The hill, though slender, is rather short; the 
culmen and gonys gently curved. The tarsi are considerably longer than the middle toe ; the 
hind claw is gently curved, and rather longer than its toe ; the two about equal to or even a 
little longer than the middle toe. The wings are long and pointed, and reach about to the 
middle of the exposed portion of the tail ; the second quill is longest ; the first about equal to 
the fourth. The tail is considerably shorter than the wings and very nearly even ; the 
feathers rather acute towards the ends, but rounded off at the tips. 
In addition to the colors already mentioned, there is a square white spot on the back of the 
head in the middle of the posterior edge of the black of the crown, as in most Plectrophanes. 
The white on the sides of the head is interrupted by the dark line behind the eye and the short 
crescent behind or a little below the ear coverts. There is a tinge of dirty brownish yellow on 
the white of the chin and upper part of the throat ; on the lower part, however, the color is 
more pure, and occupies the inferior half of the neck, the chestnut half collar completing the 
zone. The black feathers on the middle region of the under surface of the body are all much 
margined and tipped with dark cinnamon brown, darker than that on the back of the neck ; 
the external black feathers all round are more or less margined with whitish, though this may 
be indicative of immaturity. There is a whitish patch on the side of the breast, covered by 
the bend of the wing. The lesser and middle wing coverts are black, although the posterior 
row of the former is white internally, or towards the back ; some of the innermost of the middle 
coverts, too, are edged with white. The general color of the upper parts is dirty brownish 
yellow, streaked centrally with dark brown. A considerable portion of the inner webs of the 
tertiaries and inner secondaries, with their tips, is white ; the outer edges of the primaries, with 
nearly the whole outer web of the first quill, are sharply white ; the tertials just beyond the 
greater wing coverts are pale rufous. The outer two tail feathers on each side are entirely 
white, with a faint trace of dusky along the midrib near the end, most distinct on the upper 
surface. The rest are margined terminally and tipped with brown, the amount of this increasing 
towards the innermost feathers. 
As already stated, this species is very similar to P. ornatus. It is, however, a very little 
larger, or, at any rate, with considerably longer wings. The bill, however, is shorter and 
stouter ; the hind claw decidedly longer. The chestnut of the back of the neck is darker. The 
white on the outer web of the tertiaries and secondaries is much purer and wider. The 
rufous margins of the pectoral feathers I have never seen in ornatus. The most striking 
peculiarity, however, is in having the shoulders black, instead of brown like the rest of the wing 
