FRINGILLA AMCENA. 
132 
they cannot then he readily distinguished. The bla c ^ 
of the wings is, however, somewhat more intense ; 
white of the wings and of the tail is dull and dirty, aI ’ d 
a yellowish tint prevails around the eyes, as well as ot> 
the neck. " I 
As the season advances, the plumage of the ad" 11 
male gradually changes, hut not simultaneously in ^ ; 
different individuals, so that in the spring and autufl 1 *j | 
we rarely find two that are alike ; some being more ° l 
less yellow, having a rudiment of black on the 
&c. according as the moulting process is more or l eS * 
advanced. 
A remarkable variety is exhibited in a changi"?- 
male, which I shot near Philadelphia, in the month 
April, and which is therefore considerably advan<-' e 
towards perfect plumage. All the primaries are 
white on the outer web towards the base, thus 
stituting-, in the most obvious manner, that white tp <) | 
beyond the wing-coverts, assigned by Say as a 
discriminating mark between this species and the J" e " 
ceding. The fact we have related diminishes the cab 1 ' 
of this character, which is nevertheless a very good o®*{ 
but as many other distinctions are observable, we n 1 ’ 1 
not rely exclusively upon it. The deviation we hA . 
here mentioned is the more remarkable, as the gre;d L ' 
number of species allied to this bird have that sp° f ’ 
either white or yellow. 
Since writing the above, I obtained, from one of 
large flocks, in which these birds congregate in 
autumn, several specimens of both sexes, more or if' 
distinguished by the marking above stated as peed' 9 
to the variety. 
81. FRINGILLA AMfENA, BONAPARTE. 
LAZULI FINCH. 
BONAPAHTE, PLATE VI. FIG. V. 
The genus Emberiza, though very natural, 
distinguished by well marked characters, has, not "' 1 
