FINCHES, SPARROWS, ETC. 
325 
GENUS PASSERINA. 
534. Passerina nivalis (Linn.). Snowflake. 
Under mandible thicker than upper, gonys very short, nostrils concealed 
by plumules ; wing 1 nearly five times as long as tarsus; tail emarginate, 
about two thirds hidden by coverts ; hind claw about as long as its toe, 
curved. Adult male in summer: white, with black on bill, middle of back, 
scapulars, greater part of primaries, 
and four to six middle tail feathers. 
Adult male in winter: washed with rusty 
on upper parts, sides of head, and chest; 
bill yellow, with dusky tip. Adult fe¬ 
male in summer: upper parts broadly 
streaked with black ; wing and tail with black of male replaced by black¬ 
ish brown ; wing with much less white. Adult female in winter : like sum¬ 
mer female, but upper parts more or less stained with rusty brown and 
feathers of back more edged with buffy. Young: under parts dull whit¬ 
ish ; upper parts gray ; wings and tail mainly dusky and brown ; white of 
wing much restricted. Male: length (skins) 5.85-7.21, wing 4.19-4.58, 
tail 2.40-2.91, bill .3S-.45. Female: length (skins) 5.95-6.62, wing 3.90- 
4.10, tail 2.39-2.62, bill .38-.43. 
Remarks. — The September birds may be distinguished by feathers of 
head, nape, and rump, which are basally white in the male, basally black 
in the female. 
Distribution. — Breeds in the arctic regions of the northern hemisphere ; 
in North America south in winter to the northern United States, irregu¬ 
larly to Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Colorado, and Oregon. 
Nest. — On ground, composed of dried grasses, lined with finer grasses 
and feathers. Eggs: usually 5, whitish, varying from dull purplish to 
greenish, speckled chiefly on larger end with shades of brown, usually 
with a few small black markings. 
Food. — Largely weed seed, grass seed, and refuse grain in winter, and 
small crustaceans, mollusks, insects, and seeds in summer. 
“ The snowflake is a well known summer bird in all the circum¬ 
polar regions, and none of the various arctic expeditions have ex¬ 
tended their explorations beyond the points where this handsome 
species is found. It chooses indifferently the bleak shores of the 
arctic islands encircled by an icy sea, or the warmer shores to the 
south as far as the Aleutian Islands, and nearly as far on the 
opposite Siberian shore of Bering Sea. Although it rears its young 
far from the usual haunts of man, it passes to the south and is one 
of the most familiar and well-known birds through the northern 
states.” (Nelson.) 
Fig. 412. 
GENUS CALCARIUS. 
General Characters. — Bill small, acutely conical, deeper than broad at 
base ; nostrils exposed; wing long, pointed; tail more than half hidden 
by pointed upper coverts; hind claw about length of its toe, slender, and 
nearly straight. 
