ARKANSAW SISKIN. 
129 
a is so similar to the European, that it might, with 
v '"h greater degree of propriety, he considered as a 
<‘"1?, than those regarded as such by authors. They 
c 0 ’ however, be easily distinguished by the following 
Arl!! lara ti ve characters : All the under parts of the 
8p *nsaw siskin are bright yellow, whilst the corre- 
gr,,' . ? parts of the European siskin are tinged with 
^lb the throat being black, and the belly, vent, 
th ( . :u,l ' s > whitish, spotted longitudinally with black; 
Vl 1 i t lUa . r gins and spots of the wing and tail-feathers are 
'V'V? 0UI ’ bird, and yellow in the European siskin ; 
CojM'ite S p 0 t s on the tail of the Arkausaw siskin are 
f 0 ‘Vd to the three outer feathers, whilst, in the 
bird, all the feathers, excepting the two middle 
in 3 "re marked with yellow ; the bill of our species 
a little shorter, less compressed, and less acumi- 
vjjj ® > finally, we may notice another trifling difference, 
consists in the proportional length of the pri- 
hj r ,' es i the four first being nearly equal in the American 
i'„ Ul ’ Hl »l the three first only in the European, the 
oth,, 1 almost a quarter of an inch shorter. The 
c 0 ' Approximate species, J Fringilla magellanica, \ ieill. 
^u^Acred by Gmcliu ami Latham as a variety of the 
file U pean siskin, is readily distinguishable by having 
•pi ' :| d entirely black, 
the Mexican siskin (Fringilla mexicana, 
v 'nay prove to be the female of our bird, or the 
locj,] ’ 11 an imperfect state of plumage, (and, from the 
" 4 rt] ( ! we should possibly have referred it to that 
u the classification of it fallen to our lot,) yet, 
an i,| |."g positive can be drawn from so unessential 
hesit ■ tion as that of the Mexican siskin, we have no 
on, at,0 » in following the same course with Say, who 
eta, ' ers it as entirely new, and have retained his 
tj) a j 1 name of Fringilla psaltria. It is very possible 
6, only the Fringilla mexicana, but also the 
file s . Mexican siskin, (Fringilla catolol, Gmel.) may be 
lv fl bird as our Fringilla psaltria; but how can 
^tnine, from the vague descriptions that have 
v S'vcn of those species ? They are equally appli- 
L - iv. i 5 
