144 
ERINGILLA CYANEA. 
of a streaked appearance ; the whole base of the plumage 
is lead colour ; the wings and tail are of a darker and 
less glossy brown, each feather being edged with lighter, 
more extended on the secondaries, and especially the 
w ing-coverts ; the wings are two inches and a half long, 
not reaching, when folded, beyond the tail-coverts ; the 
first primary is subequal to the fourth, the second and 
third being longest ; the three outer, besides the first, 
are greatly attenuated on the outer web, half an inch 
from the point, where it is extremely narrow ; the tail 
is two inches in length, and but slightly emarginated ; 
the feet are dusky, the tarsus measuring three-quarters 
of an inch. 
The male, after his autumnal moult, exhibits pretty 
much the same dress, except being more or less tinged 
with bluish. We shall here observe, that we do not 
believe that the individual kept by Wilson in a cage 
through the winter, in which the gay plumage did not 
return for more than two months, formed an exception 
to the general law, as he supposed. We have no doubt 
that this circumstance is characteristic of the species in 
its wfild state. 
The young strongly resemble the female ; the drab 
colour is, however, much less pure and glossy, being 
somewhat intermixed with dusky olive, owing to the 
centre of the feathers being of the latter hue. Conse^ 
quently, during the progress from youth to adolescence, 
and even during the two periodical changes, the plumage 
of this bird is more or less intermixed w'ith drab, blue, 
and white, according to the stage of the moulting 
process, some being beautifully and regularly spotted 
with large masses of those colours symmetrically disposed. 
In one of these males, but little advanced in its changes, 
we readily recognize the Emheriza ccerulea of authors, 
Azuroux of Buffon, &c. ; and in another, which has 
made farther progress towards the perfect state, the 
shoulders only retaining the ferruginous tinge, we can 
trace the Emheriza cyanella of Sparmann. 
3 
