Habits. This is a new form, whose claim to distinctness was first made known by Mr. Ridgway, in 1869. In appearance, it most resembles the P. æstiva, but is larger. It has been found in the Middle Province of the United States, from Fort Mohave at the north, to Colima and Mazatlan in Mexico.
Dr. Cooper found this bird quite common near Fort Mohave, after April 25, in the Colorado Valley, latitude 35°. They chiefly frequented the tall cottonwood, feeding on insects, and occasionally flew down to the Larrea bushes after a kind of bee found on them. He states also that they have a call-note sounding like the words ke-dik, which, in the language of the Mojave Indians, signifies “come here.” They sing in a loud, clear tone, and in a style much like that of the Robin, but with a power of ventriloquism which makes the sound appear much more distant than it really is. The only specimens of this species known to have been obtained in the United States were taken at Los Pinos, New Mexico, by Dr. Coues, and at Fort Mohave by Dr. Cooper. Other specimens have been procured from Western Mexico.
Family FRINGILLIDÆ.—The Finches.
Char. Primaries nine. Bill very short, abruptly conical, and robust. Commissure strongly angulated at base of bill. Tarsi scutellate anteriorly, but the sides with two undivided plates meeting behind along the median line, as a sharp posterior ridge. Eyes hazel or brown, except in Pipilo, where they are reddish or yellowish. Nest and eggs very variable as to character and situation.
I still labor under the inability expressed in Birds of North America (p. 406), in 1858, to satisfactorily define and limit the subfamilies and genera of the Fringillidæ of North America, and can only hope that by the aid of the figures of the present work no material difficulty will be experienced in determining the species. The distinctions from the allied families are also difficult to draw with precision. This is especially the case with the Tanagridæ, where we have much the same external anatomy, including the bill, nearly all the varying peculiarities of this member in the one being repeated in the other.—S. F. B.
All the United States species may be provisionally divided into four subfamilies (the European House-Sparrow forming a fifth), briefly characterizable as follows:—
Coccothraustinæ. Bill variable, from enormously large to quite small; the base of the upper mandible almost always provided with a close-pressed fringe of bristly feathers (more or less conspicuous) concealing the nostrils. Wings very long and pointed, usually one half to one third longer than the forked or emarginate tail. Tarsi short.
Pyrgitinæ. Bill robust, swollen, arched above without distinct ridge. Lower mandible at base narrower than upper. Nostrils covered; side of maxilla with stiff appressed bristles. Tarsi short, not longer than middle toe. Tail shorter than the somewhat pointed wings. Back streaked; under parts not streaked.
Spizellinæ. Embracing all the plain-colored sparrow-like species marked with longitudinal stripes. Bill conical, always rather small; both mandibles about equal. Tarsi lengthened. Wings and tail variable. Lateral claws never reaching beyond the base of the middle claw.