FINCHES, SPARROWS, ETC. 
371 
buffy below and on wing bands; median under parts and face more or less 
tinged with red. Young female: like young male, but without red. Male: 
length (skins) 7.45-8.41, wing 3.52-3.88, tail 3.72-4.25, bill .59-63. Fe¬ 
male: length (skins) 6.90-7.94, wing 3.46-3.67, tail 3.69-3.82, bill .58-62. 
Distribution. — Lower Sonoran zone from southern Arizona to western 
Texas and northwestern Mexico. 
Nest and eggs similar to those of the cardinals, but eggs averaging 
smaller. 
Though not so brilliant as the Cardinalis group, the Pyrrhuloxias 
when among their native mesquites seem even more beautiful. The 
rose-colored vest that lights up their soft gray plumage gives an 
exquisite delicacy and freshness that adds charm to their individual¬ 
ity and sprightliness. Their expression changes astonishingly with 
the movement of their crest. When it is flattened the short curved 
bill and round head suggest a bored parrot in a cage, but when the 
crest is raised to its full height and thrown forward, the beautiful 
bird is the picture of alert interest and vivacity. 
The call-note of the Pyrrhuloxias, instead of a single chip, is made 
up of several flat, thin notes. Their whistle, though of similar char¬ 
acter to the cardinals’, instead of being a scooped cue note is a clear 
straight whistle. 
A pair whose nest we stumbled on in the mesquite showed their 
mutual solicitude in such a charming manner, the male bursting into 
song to draw our attention from his mate and nest, that it seemed as 
if rare pleasure lay in store for the bird student with leisure to study 
their attractive ways. 
594a. P. s. texana Ridgw. Texas Pyrrhuloxia. 
Adult male. — Similar to sinuata , but bill much heavier and coloration 
darker ; ring round bill conspicuously marked with black ; upper parts dark 
gray. Adult female: similar to female sinuata, but under parts grayish on 
front and sides. Male: length (skins) 7.54-8.10, wing 3.48-3.88, tail 3.68- 
4.21, bill .60-.67. Female: length (skins) 7.10-8.10, wing 3.39-3.79, tail 
3.30-4.26, bill .60-.65. 
Distribution. — Lower Sonoran zone in northeastern Mexico and southern 
Texas, north to Nueces, Bee, Bexar, Kendall, and Tom Green counties. 
Nest. — In mesquite and other thorny bushes, small and compact, made 
of inner bark, grasses, and twigs, lined with a few rootlets. Eggs: 3, spotted 
with brown and lavender massed at the larger end. 
GENUS ZAMELODIA. 
General Characters. — Bill heavy, short, conical, much deeper than broad 
at base; nostrils exposed; wing pointed; tail even or slightly rounded; 
tarsus about as long as middle toe with claw. 
KEY TO ADULT MALES. 
1. Under parts brown and yellow ..... melanocephala, p. 372. 
1'. Under parts white and rose pink ..... . ludoviciana, p. 372. 
