Lincoln's Finch, Fringilla Lincolnii.
Adult Male. Plate CXCIII. Fig. 1.
Bill short, conical, acute; upper mandible almost straight in its dorsal outline, rounded on the sides; lower mandible slightly convex beneath, the sides rounded; edges of both sharp and inflected; gap-line deflected at the base. Nostrils basal, roundish, partially concealed by the feathers. Head rather large, neck short, body rather full. Feet of moderate length, slender; tarsus covered anteriorly with a few longish scutella; toes free, scutellate above, the lateral ones nearly equal; hind-toe not much stouter; claws slender, compressed, slightly arched, acute.
Plumage soft, blended, the feathers somewhat distinct on the back, slightly glossed. Wings shortish, curved, second and third quills longest, and equal, first almost as long as fifth; secondaries long and rounded. Tail rather long, graduated and emarginate, of twelve straight, narrow rather acute feathers.
Bill dark brown at the end, greyish-blue at the base. Iris brown. Feet yellowish-brown. The upper part of the head has a greyish-blue band in the centre, and two at the sides, the intermediate spaces chestnut, streaked with brownish-black. The general colour of the upper parts is yellowish-brown, with streaks of brownish-black. Quills and larger coverts deep brown, margined externally with yellowish-brown, and the latter slightly tipped with whitish. Tail yellowish-brown, the outer feathers paler. Cheeks of the same tint, tinged with grey, beneath which is a curved band of ochraceous yellow; throat white, streaked with dusky, and having a line of dusky spots on each side; fore part of the breast, and the sides pale greyish-yellow, streaked with dusky, the rest greyish-white.
Length 5¾ inches, extent of wings 8 2⁄12; bill along the ridge 5⁄12, along the edge 7⁄12; tarsus 10⁄12.
Adult Female. Plate CXCIII. Fig. 2.
The female differs from the male only in having the tints a little duller.
This species belongs to the same group as the Yellow-winged, the Savannah, Henslow's and Bachman's Finches.