PRAIRIE LARK-FINCH. 
195 
broad, the dorsal line ascending and slightly convex, the back broad, the 
sides rounded, the edges inflected, the tip pointed. Nostrils basal, roundish. 
Head large, ovate ; neck short ; body' full. Feet of moderate length, stout ; 
tarsus of ordinary length, compressed, with seven scutella ; toes rather large, 
the first stouter, the lateral equal, the third very long. Claws rather long, 
arched, much compressed, laterally grooved, tapering to a very acute point. 
Plumage soft and blended. Bristles at the base of upper mandible feeble. 
Wings of moderate length, the outer three quills nearly equal, the second 
longest, the fourth slightly shorter than the third; outer secondaries broadly 
rounded and emarginate ; inner tapering to a rounded point, one of them, 
when the wing is closed, little shorter than the outer primaries. Tail of 
moderate length, a little rounded. Name from Ko^JAaos, a lark. 
PRAIRIE LARK-FINCH. 
CoRYDALINA BICOLOR, Towns. 
PLATE CCII. — Male and Female. 
This species, of which there are in my possession several specimens, pre- 
sented to me by my friend Mr. Nuttall, was discovered by that zealous 
naturalist and his companion Mr. Townsend on the plains of the Platte, 
and briefly characterized in the Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences 
of Philadelphia. From its general appearance, and especially from what is 
known of its habits, I consider it closely allied to the Rice Bunting, 
Dolichonyx oryzivora ; I have adopted the appellation given by its dis- 
coverers, the latter of whom has favoured me with the following notice 
respecting it. 
“ The Prairie Finch inhabits a portion of the Platte country, in large 
flocks. It is strictly gregarious, and feeds upon the ground, along which it 
runs like the Grass Finch, Fringilla graminca, to which it is somewhat 
allied. As the large flocks, consisting of from sixty to a hundred individuals, 
were started from the ground by our caravan in passing, the piebald appear- 
ance of the males and females promiscuously intermingled, presented a 
curious, but by no means unpleasing, effect. While the flock is engaged in 
feeding, the males are frequently observed to rise suddenly to a considerable 
