370 
SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. — PASSEBES — OSCINES. 
handle them as 1. fasciata and fallax, with a, Jieermanni; 2. saniuelis; 3. rufina, with a, 
guttata. 4. cinerea. 
Analysis of Species and Varieties. 
Breast streaked, and with a transverse belt of brownish-yellow; tail nearly equal to wings . . lincolni 242 
Breast ashy, unbelted, with few streaks, or none ; tail about equal to wings j^f^i^stris 243 
Breast white, or brownish-white, with numerous streaks ; tail usually longer than the wings, both rounded. 
Thickly streaked above, on sides, and across breast fasciata and its varieties 244-250 
The streaks distinct, decidedly blackish-centred (in breeding plumage). 
Tone of upper parts grayish-brown or reddish-gray. Streaked from head to tail. Dorsal streaks black, 
rufous, and grayish-white. Wing 2.60; tail under 3.00. Eastern N. A fasciata 244 
Tone of upper parts gray. Streaks obsolete on rump. Dorsal streaks narrowly blackish and grayish- 
white, with little rufous. Tail about 3.00. Southern Rocky Mt. region fallax 245 
Tone of upper parts ashy-gray. Streaks obsolete on rump. Dorsal streaks broadly black, with little 
rufous and scarcely any grayish-white. Size of the first. California heermanni 248 
Tone of upper parts olive-gray. Streaks on rump and upper tail-coverts. Dorsal streaks as in the 
last. Very small. Wing 2.25; tail 2.50. Coast of California samuelis 249 
The streaks diffuse, not black-centred nor whitish-edged. Bill slender. Pacific, coastwise. 
Tone of upper parts rufous-brown. Streaks above and below dark rufous. Medium-sized ; wing 2.60 ; 
tail under 3.00. Pacific coast, U. S. and British Columbia guttata 246 
Tone of upper parts oHve-brown. Streaks sooty. Larger ; wing and tail about 3,00. Pacific coast, 
British Columbia and Alaska ritjina 247 
Tone of upper parts dark cinereous. Streaking reddish-brown. Largest; wing and tail 3.25 or more 
cinerea 250 
242. M. lin'colni. (To Robert Lincoln. Fig. 282.) Lincoln's Song Sparrow. (^,9: Below, 
white, with a broad brownish -yellow belt across breast, the sides of the body and neck, and the 
crissum, washed with the same ; extent and intensity of this buff very variable, often leaving 
only chin, throat, and belly purely white, but a pectoral band is always evident. All the buffy 
parts sharply and thickly streaked with dusky. Above, grayish-brown, with numerous sharp 
black-centred, brown-edged streaks. Top of head ashy, with a pair of dark brown black- 
streaked stripes ; or, say, top of head brown, streaked with black, and with median and lateral 
ashy stripes. Below the superciliary ashy stripe is a narrow dark brown one, running from eye 
over ear ; auriculars also bounded below by an indistinct dark brown stripe, below which and 
behind the auriculars the parts are suffused with buff. Wings with much rufous-brown edging 
of all the quills ; inner secondaries and coverts having quite black central fields, with broad bay 
edging, becoming whitish toward their ends. Tail brown, the feathers with pale edges, and 
the central pair at least with dusky shaft-stripes. Bill blackish, lighter below ; feet brownish. 
Length 5.50-6.00; extent 7-75-8.25; wing and tail, each, about 2.50, the latter rather shorter. 
There is little variation in color, except as above said. Fall specimens are usually most buffy. 
Very young : Before the fall moult, birds of the year are much browner above, with consider- 
able brownish- yellow streaking besides the black markings ; top of head quite like back, the 
ashy stripes not being established ; whole under parts broM^nish-yellow, merely paler on throat 
and belly, dusky-streaked throughout. North Am. at large ; a peculiar species, not so well 
known as it might be, less numerous in the Atlantic States than in the interior and west ; and 
keeping very close in shrubbery. Migratory ; winters in the South ; breeds at least from N. Y. 
and N. England to Arctic regions, and in the West S. at least to Mts. of Colorado. Nesting 
like that of the song sparrow, and eggs not distinguishable with certainty. 
243. M. palus'tris. (Lat. palustris, svA^ampy ; palus, a sM^amp. Fig. 233.) Swamp Song Spar- 
row. ^ 9 J perfect plumage : Crown bright chestnut, blackening on forehead, the red cap and 
black vizor as conspicuous as in a chipping sparrow; but oftener, crown with obscure median 
ashy line, and streaked with black. An ashy-gray superciliary line ; a dark brown postocular 
stripe, bordering the auriculars ; sides of head ashy, with grayish-brown auriculars, dusky 
speckling on cheeks and lores, and slight dusky maxillary spots or streaks. An ashy cervical 
collar separating the chestnut crown from the back, sometimes pure, oftener interrupted with 
blackish streaks. The general ash of the sides of head and neck spreads all over the brecst 
