BS BIRDS—FRINGILLIDA. 
resembled an elongated hollow cone or inverted balloon. The only open- 
ings sufficiently large to admit the passage of the birds were an entrance 
over the limb, at the fork, and an exit directly opposite. In this re- 
markable structure the eggs were natched and the young safely raised. 
After the nest was deserted I found the attachment of the grass stems 
sufficiently strong to support the nest after the limb on which it was 
placed was removed. 
The nest is generally placed on the ground, but often on a low bush. 
It is composed mainly of leaves and grass, and lined with fine grass, 
rarely with horse-hair, perhaps with good reason, for I have found two 
unfortunate females who had ensnared themselves in attempting to use 
this material. The eggs are usually five. Their ground color varies 
from a erayish- or pinkish-white to light bluish-green, more or less 
thickly spotted with dark reddish-brown. Their average measurement 
is .82 by .60. 
GENUS JUNCO. Wagler. 
Bill small, the lower mandible as high as the upper. Tarsus longer ihan middle toe; 
outer toe longer than inner, barely reaching to base of middle claw; hind toe reaching 
to middle of middle claw. Wings rather short; a little longer than the tail; primaries — 
longer than the nearly'equal secondaries and tertiaries. 
JUNCO HYEMALIS (L ) Sel. 
Snowbird. 
Fringilla hyemalis, KintLanD, Ohio Geolog. Surv., 1¢33, 164, 183.—Rkrab, Proc. Phila. 
Acad. Nat. Sci., vi, 1853, 395. 
Junco hyemalis, WHEATON, Ohio Agric. Rep. for 1860, 336; Reprint, 1¢61, 8; Food of 
Birds, ete., Obio Agric. Rep. for 1874, 566; Reprint, 1875, 6 —Lanepon, Birds of 
. $. 
Cin., 1877, 8; Revised List, Journ. Cin. Soc. Nat. Hist., i, 1879, 175; Reprint, 9. 
Snow Bird, KIRTLAND, Fam. Visitor, i, 1°50, 63.—Reap, Fam. Visitor, iii, 1852, 68. 
Fringilla hyemalis, LINNZUS, Syst. Naf., i, 1758, 183. 
Junco hyemalis, SCLATER, Proc. Zool. Soc., 1857, 7. 
Blackish-ash, below abruptly pure white from the breast. Two to three outer tail 
feathers white. Bill flesh colored. In the female, and in fact in most fall and winter 
specimens, the upper parts have a more grayish, or even a decidedly brownish cast, and 
the inner quills are edged with pale bay. Length, 6-64; wing and tail, about 3. 
Habitat, Eastern Province of North America; in the United States west to the Black 
Hills, thence northwest to Alaska. Washington Territory. Utah. Colorade. Arizona. 
Winter resident in Southern and Middle, and resident throughout the 
year in Northeastern Ohio. Dr. Kirtland says it “breeds in great num- 
bers in the dark beech woods of the Connecticut Western Reserve.” Mr. 
Read says it is “most abundant in winter, yet common throughout the 
year.” I have seen it in July in Portage county. In the vicinity 
