This very remarkable variety of P. townsendi is quite local in its distribution, having been observed only in the Sierra Nevada region, as above indicated. The first specimens were brought from Fort Tejon by Mr. J. Xantus, but at what season they were found there is not indicated on the labels. Recently, specimens were procured by Mr. Ridgway at Carson City, Nev., in April, they having arrived there about the 20th of April, frequenting the ravines of the Sierra near the snow. At the same place the var. schistacea was found earlier in the spring, but among the willows along the streams in the valleys, and not met with in the mountains; and all the individuals had passed northward before those of megarhynchus arrived.
In this restricted distribution the present bird is a companion of the Melospiza melodia, var. heermanni, and the characteristics of form are the same in both as compared with their Middle Province and Northern representatives; while they both differ from the latter (townsendi of Passerella, and rufina of Melospiza) in purer, lighter, and less brown colors.
Habits. Dr. Cooper met with several individuals of this bird towards the summits of the Sierra Nevada, in September, 1863, but was unable to preserve any of them. So far as he was able to observe them, they had no song, and their habits were generally similar to those of the P. townsendi.
The Thick-billed Sparrow was found by Mr. Ridgway as a very common bird among the alder swamps in the ravines of the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada during the summer. Near Carson City, April 25, in a swampy thicket near the streams in the level slopes, he heard, for the first time, its beautiful song, and killed a specimen in the midst of its utterance of what, he adds, was one of the most exquisitely rich utterances he ever heard. This song, he states, resembles, in richness and volume, that of the Louisiana Water Thrush (Seiurus ludovicianus), qualities in which that bird is hardly equalled by any other North American bird. They were singing in all parts of that swampy thicket, and up the ravines as far as the snow. From the nature of the place and the character of their song, they were at first supposed to be the Water Thrush, until specimens of these exquisite songsters were secured. He regards this bird as second to none of our singers belonging to this family and though in variety, sprightliness, and continuity, and also in passionate emotional character, its song is not equal to that of the Chondestes grammaca, yet it is far superior in power and richness of tone. Mr. Ridgway regards this bird as easily distinguishable from the P. schistacea, of which, however, it is only a variety. There is a total discrepancy in its notes, and while neither species is resident in the latitude of Carson City, through which both kinds pass in their migrations, the P. schistacea lingers in the spring only a short time, soon passing to the northward, while the P. megarhynchus arrives later and remains through the summer. The former makes its temporary abode among the willows along the river, while the latter breeds in the shrubbery of the mountain ravines.
Subfamily SPIZINÆ.
Char. Bill variable, always large, much arched, and with the culmen considerably curved; sometimes of enormous size, and with a greater development backward of the lower jaw, which is always appreciably, sometimes considerably, broader behind than the upper jaw at its base; nostrils exposed. Tail rather variable. Bill generally black, light blue, or red. Wings shorter than in the first group. Gape almost always much more strongly bristled. Few of the species sparrow-like or plain in their appearance; usually blue, red, or black and white; except in one or two instances the sexes very different in color.
The preceding diagnosis is intended to embrace the brightly colored passerine birds of North America, different in general appearance from the common Sparrows. It is difficult to draw the line with perfect strictness, so as to separate the species from those of the preceding group, but the bill is always more curved, as well as larger, and the colors are brighter. They resemble quite closely, at a superficial glance, the Coccothraustinæ, but may be readily distinguished by absence of the projecting tufts surrounding the base of the upper mandible, shorter, more rounded wings, and longer tarsi.
The genera may be most conveniently arranged as follows:—
A. Wings decidedly longer than the tail. Eggs plain blue or white, unspotted.
a. Feet very stout, reaching nearly to the end of the tail. Species terrestrial.