Male with the head, hind neck, fore part of the breast, back, wings, and upper parts of the sides, greyish-black, deeper on the head and throat; quills margined with whitish; tail with the two lateral feathers on each side, and a patch on the inner web of the next white, as are the breast and abdomen. Female lighter grey, on the back tinged with brown.
Male, 61/4, 9.
Distributed, in winter, over the Southern, Western, and Middle Districts, as far as the base of the Rocky Mountains, and in the Fur Countries. Breeds from Maryland eastward, on the mountains. Very abundant.
Snow Bird, Fringilla nivalis, Wils. Amer. Orn. v. ii. p. 129.
Fringilla hyemalis, Bonap. Syn. p. 109.
Fringilla hyemalis, Black Finch, Swains. & Rich. F. Bor. Amer. v. ii. p. 505.
Common Snow-Bird, Fringilla Hudsonia, Nutt. Man. v. i. p. 491.
Snow-Bird, Fringilla hyemalis, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. i. p. 72; v. v. p. 505.
168. 2. Niphæa Oregona, Towns. Oregon Snow-Bird.
Plate CCCXCVIII. Fig. 3. Male. Fig. 4. Female.
Male with the head, neck all round, and a portion of the breast black; the rest of the lower parts white, excepting the sides, which are tinged with brown; fore part of back reddish-brown, rump dull grey; quills dusky, the primaries edged with grey, the secondaries with reddish-brown; tail dusky, with the outer two feathers on each side white. Female with the head and neck blackish-grey, the back and wing-coverts dull brownish-red, the other parts as in the male.
Male, 61/4; wing, 31/12.
Columbia River. Common. Migratory.
Fringilla oregona, Oregon Snow-Finch, Towns. Journ. Acad. Nat. Sc. Philadelphia, v. vii. p. 188.
Oregon Snow-Finch, Fringilla oregona, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. v. p. 68.