ARKANSAS GOLDFINCH. 
135 
Plumage very soft and blended ; short stiffish feathers at the base of the 
bill. Wings rather long, little concave; the second, third, and fourth pri- 
maries cut out toward the end ; the second longest, the first half a twelfth 
shorter, the third scarcely a quarter of a twelfth shorter than the second, 
and exceeding the fourth by a twelfth and a half, the next four and a quar- 
ter twelfths shorter ; some of the inner primaries and most of the seconda- 
ries distinctly emarginate. Tail rather short, deeply emarginate, the 
feathers obliquely pointed and divaricate. 
Bill flesh-coloured, the upper mandible dusky toward the end. Feet and 
claws reddish-brown. The upper part of the head is deep black ; the hind 
neck, back, and scapulars yellowish-green, each feather greenish-brown in 
the centre ; the rump greenish-yellow, the upper tail coverts dusky, mar- 
gined with greenish-yellow, as are the smaller wing-coyerts. The other 
coverts and quills are black ; the secondary-coverts broadly tipped with 
pale yellow, which forms a conspicuous band across the wing ; the quills 
are margined with yellowish-white, the inner more broadly ; all the quills, 
the outer three, and the inner secondaries excepted, are white toward the 
base. The tail is brownish-black, the feathers narrowly edged with brownish- 
white, and all, excepting the two middle and the lateral, with a white space 
at the base, which runs out along the outer margin forming a conspicuous 
patch. All the lower parts are bright-yellow, but the cheeks and the sides 
of the neck are tinged with green, and the feathers of the chin are blackish 
in the centre. 
Length to end of tail 4£ inches ; extent of wings 8 ; bill along the ridge 
i 4 a 4 j along the edge of lower mandible ; wing from flexure ; tail 2 ; 
tarsus j 7 ^ ; hind toe T %, its claw al; middle toe -f'4, its claw T |. 
The female is similar to the male, but wants the black patch on the head, 
that part being green like the back. 
