134 
FRINGIXLA VESPERTINA. 
blackish, obscurely margined with blue, and slightly 
tipped with white on the exterior web, constituting a 
second band across the wings parallel to the first, but 
much narrower; the primaries and secondaries are 
blackish, obscurely margined with blue on the outer 
web ; the under wing-coverts are whitish, a little 
intermixed with blue. The tail is slightly emarginated, 
the feathers being blackish, edged with blue on the 
outer web, and with white on the inner web at tip. 
The above description of this handsome bird is taken 
from a male in summer plumage, the only specimen 
brought by Long’s exploring party : hence we are 
unable to give any positive information relative to the 
female and young, though, from analogy,wemust believe 
them in great part destitute of the blue colour, and 
otherwise less brilliantly adorned. 
This species appears to be rather rare ; it is found 
along the Arkansaw river, near the base of the Bocky 
Mountains, during the summer months ; they frequent 
the bushy valleys, keeping much in the grass, and 
seldom alight on shrubs or trees. In this respect, also, 
they resemble the Indigo bird, and probably their habits 
are the same, although the note is entirely dissimilar. 
32 . FRINGILLA VESPER TINA, COOPER . 
EVENING GROSBEAK. 
BONAPARTE, PLATE XV. FIG. I. 
Few birds could form a more interesting acquisition 
to the Fauna of any country than this really find gros- 
beak. Beautiful in plumage, peculiar in its habits, 
important to systematical writers, it combines advan- 
tages of every kind. It was named and first described 
by Mr Cooper, and little has since been discovered of 
its history to be added to the information he has col- 
lected and given us in the journal above quoted. The 
species appears to have an extensive range in the 
northern and north-western parts of this continent, 
being met with from the extremity of the Michigan 
