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PROCEEDINGS OF THE ACADEMY OF 
think that this character is hardly a tangible one by which to separate the 
two. The length (4.50 inches) and the length of tail (“barely two inches,”) 
assigned to the species might be sufficient to separate, were it not for the fact 
that specimens of linarius are to be found, by comparing large series, which 
approach large specimens of rufescens very closely. In one of these from North 
America now before us, the tail barely exceeds that of a rufescens appreciably. 
Still, as we have never seen, out of a large series of specimens, any individuals 
of linarius so small as to measure only 4.50 inches in length, and especially as 
the species is admitted by so many ornothologists, we have concluded to pre- 
sent it as distinct. We do not consider that the fact of the occasional occur- 
rence of specimens of two nearly allied species which cannot be distinguished 
without difficulty as any proof of the specific identity of the two ; and, more- 
over, the few specimens we have examined may not present, typically, the 
characters of the species. 
Acanthis rufescens is given by Bonaparte and Schlegel, in their very valuable 
work, the i£ Monographic des Loxiens,” rather as a sub-species, or race of lina- 
rius, than as entitled to full specific rank. Bonaparte, however, in his Con- 
spectus, considers its characters as of full specific value. The two authors 
first mentioned speak of it as follows : “ Elle offre quelquefois des teintes, plus 
vives que le sizerin commun ; mais il parait encore exister, entre ces deux 
oiseaux, par rapport a la taille, un passage gradual, absolument comme celui 
qui nous avons signale entre le sizerin commun et celui d’Holbdll.” “ Nous 
avons vu que le sizerin d’Holboll se distingue du sizerin commun par une taille 
plus fort ; la race ” — the italics are ours — “ dont nous nous occupons main ten- 
ant s’en eloigne en sens contraire, c’est a dire par une taille plus petite.” 
It should be borne in mind that Temminck, whose authority in matters of 
this sort is deservedly high, takes every opportunity of strenuously denying 
the existence of the A. rufescens. He accounts for the discrepancies in size in 
the following manner : “ II existe, dans cette espece ”—A. linarius — “ comme 
chez la Fringilla carmabina , Fringilla phyrrhula , Alauda cristaia , Perdix cinerea , 
et chez plusieurs esp^ces d’oiseaux de marais, des individus, souventdes com- 
pagnies entieres, dont les dimensions sont moins fortes ; nous avons observes 
que ces varietes plus ou moins constantes dependent de causes purement ac- 
cidentelles et locales. II me parait qu’il est ainsi du Sizerin et du pretendu 
Cabaret , qu’on veut faire passer comme deux especes distinctes.” 
The Fringilla linaria of Temminck, of 1820, is the true linaria: but Tem- 
minck’s linaria of 1835 is as certainly the present species, race, or variety, 
whichever it is to be considered. That author, in his brief diagnosis, dwells 
especially upon the small size, and the brownish rump ; and alters the dimen- 
sions from five inches (which is more nearly correct for the true linaria ), to 
“ quatre pouces cinq ou six lignes,” which can only refer to the present spe- 
cies. This identification of his linarius of 1835 is moreover rendered necessary 
by the synonyms adduced. 
ZEgiothus linarius (Linn.) Cab. 
Fringilla linaria, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. 1766, 322; auctorumque antiq. plerique. 
Temm. Man. Orn. 1820, 373 ; nec Temm. 1835. 
Fringilla ( Acanthis ) linaria, Keys, et Bias., Wirb. Eur. 1840, 161 ; num. 115. 
Passer linaria , Pallas, Zoog. Rosso-As. 1811, ii. 25. 
Spinus linarius , Koch, Syst. baier. Zool. 233 ; fide Cab. 
Linota linaria, Holb. F. Groenl. 1?46, 29. 
Acanthis linaria , Bp., Consp. Av. 1850, i. 541. Bp. et Schleg. Monogr. Lox. 48, 
tab. 52. 
JEgiothus linarius , Cab., Mus. Hein. 1851, 161. Bd. Gen: Rep. 1858, 428. 
Linaria minor # Ray, Sw. et Rich. F. B. A. 1831, ii. 267. 
Fringilla borealis , Vieill., Nouv. Diet. xxxi. 341 ; nec Temm. quae Linaria 
canescens , Gould. 
Linota borealis, Bp., Ind. Eur. Av. 48. 
