150 
THE SONG-FINCH. 
Fringilla melodia, Wils. Amer. Orn., vol. ii. p. 125. 
Fringilla melodia, Bonap. Syn., p. 108. 
Common Song Sparrow, Fringilla melodia , Nutt. Man., vol. i. p. 486. 
Song Sparrow, Fringilla melodia , Aud. Orn. Biog., vol. i. p. 126 ; vol. v. p. 507, 
Adult Male. 
Bill short, robust, conical, a little bulging, straight, acute ; upper mandi- 
ble broader, slightly declinate at the tip ; gap-line a little declinate at the 
base. Nostrils basal, roundish, concealed by the frontal feathers. Feet of 
moderate length ; tarsus longer than the middle toe ; toes free, the lateral 
ones nearly equal ; claws compressed, arched, acute. 
Plumage rather compact above, soft and blended beneath. Wings short, 
rounded, the third and fourth quills longest. Tail longish, even, the feathers 
narrow and acute. 
Bill deep brown above, bluish beneath. Iris hazel. Feet and claws pale 
brown. Upper part of the head reddish-brown, mottled with dark brown, 
with a broad line of bluish-grey down the middle. Back grey, streaked 
with reddish-brown and dusky. Lower back bluish-grey ; tail coverts 
tinged with light brown. Sides of the head bluish-grey ; a broad line of 
brown from the eye backwards, and another from the commissure of the 
mouth. Under parts white, tinged on the sides with grey, and posteriorly 
with reddish-brown, the neck and breast spotted with dark brown, and the 
lateral under tail-coverts streaked with the same. Wings dark brown, the 
quills margined externally with reddish-brown, the coverts margined and 
tipped with whitish. Tail-feathers uniformly dull brown. 
Length 6 inches, extent of wings 8i ; bill along the ridge •£, along the 
gap h ; tarsus 1, middle toe f, hind toe f. 
The female hardly differs in colour from the male. 
The Huckleberry or Blue-tangles. 
Yaccinium frondosum, Willd,, Sp. PL, vol. ii. p. 352. Pursch , Flor. Amer. vol. i. 
p. 285. — Decandria Monogynia, Linn. — Erica:, Puss. 
Leaves deciduous, ovato-oblong or lanceolate, entire, smooth, glaucous 
beneath, resinous ; racemes lax, bracteate ; pedicles long, filiform, bracteo- 
late ; corollas ovato-campanulate, with acute lacinise and included anthers. 
The flower is white, the calyx green, the berry globular and of a bluish- 
black colour. It varies greatly in the form of the leaves, as well as in 
stature, sometimes attaining a height of six or seven feet. 
Huckleberries form a portion of the food of many birds, as well as of 
