Chapter VI: Front Matter (6)

GEN. CHAR. Bill very short and very much curved, as in _Pyrrhula_, almost as deep as long; the commissure concave, abruptly bent towards the end. Tarsus about equal to middle toe; inner toe rather the longer (?), reaching about to the base of the middle one; hind toe to the middle of this claw. Wings short, reaching over the posterior third of the exposed part of the tail; the tertiaries gradually longer than the secondaries, neither much shorter than the primaries, which are graduated, and but little different in length, the first shorter than the sixth, the second and fourth equal. The tail is about as long as the wings, rounded, all the feathers slightly graduated, rather sharply acuminate and decidedly mucronate. Smallest of American passerine birds.

The essential characters of this genus are the small, very convex bill, as high as long; the short broad wings, with the quills differing little in length, the outer ones graduated; the tail as long as the wings, widened towards the end, and slightly graduated, with the acuminate and mucronate tip to the feathers.

Many species of the genus occur in Middle and South America, although none not readily distinguishable from the single North American one.

Spermophila moreleti, PUCHERAN.

LITTLE SEED-EATER.

_Spermophila moreleti_, (PUCHERAN,) BONAP. Conspectus, 1850,
497.—SCLATER, Pr. Zoöl. Soc. 1856, 302.—BAIRD, Birds N. Am.
1858, 506, pl. liv, f. 2, 3.—IB. Mex. Bound. II, Birds, 17,
pl. xvi, f. 2, 3. _Sporophila moreleti_, CAB. Mus. Hein. 1851,
150.—IB. Journ. für. Orn. IX, 1861, 4 (with synonomy).
_Spermophila albigularis_, (SPIX,) LAWRENCE, Ann. N. Y. Lyceum,
V, Sept. 1851, 124 (Texas. Not of SPIX).

SP. CHAR. The top and sides of the head, back of the neck, a broad band across the upper part of the breast extending all round, the middle of the back, the wings and tail, with the posterior upper coverts, black. The chin, upper throat and neck all round, but interrupted behind, the rump, with the remaining under and lateral portions of the body, white; the latter tinged with brownish-yellow. Two bands on the wing, across the greater and middle coverts, with the concealed bases of all the quills, also white. Length, about 4 inches; wing, 2.05; tail, 1.90.

_Female._ Dull yellow; olivaceous above, brownish-yellow beneath. Wings and tail somewhat as in the male.

HAB. Rio Grande of Texas; south to Costa Rica. Xalapa (SCL. 1859, 365); Oaxaca (SCL. 1859, 378); Cordova (SCL. 1856, 302); Guatemala (SCL. Ibis, I, 17; SALV. Ibis, I, 468; nest); Costa Rica (CAB. J. 1861, 4); Vera Cruz, winter, alpine region, breeding (SUM. M. B. S. I, 551).

The specimen upon which the preceding description of the male has been based is the only one in full plumage we have seen, and was kindly lent by Mr. P. L. Sclater. It was collected in Honduras. Some of the feathers of the back have grayish tips. The specimen described by Mr. Lawrence as _S. albigularis_, though male, is, in most respects, like the female, except that the wings and tail are darker, the color of the upper part grayer, and the interscapular feathers blotched with black. The black of the head is strongly indicated, the feathers, however, all with gray margins. In this and another, a little further advanced, from San Diego, Mexico, (4096,) there is a very faint indication of the black pectoral band, and there is no trace of the whitish of the rump.

HABITS. This pretty little tropical form of Sparrow can only rest a claim to be included in our fauna by its occasional presence on the Rio Grande in Texas. It is found throughout Mexico and Central America.

Mr. Sumichrast found it throughout the State of Vera Cruz, except only in the elevated or alpine regions. Its common name was _Frailecito_. It was abundant throughout the hot and the temperate regions as well as the plateau.

This species was first met with near the Lake of Peten, in Guatemala, by M. Morelet, and was described from his specimens in the Paris Museum by Prince Bonaparte. Mr. Salvin found it a not uncommon species about Dueñas, where it is generally to be found amongst the tall weeds on the edge of the lake. It was also found at Belize. From a letter of Mr. Salvin, published in the Ibis of 1859 (p. 468), we quote the following in reference to the nest of this species, which is all the information we have in relation to this diminutive Sparrow: “A day or two ago I found two nests of _Spermophila moreleti_, and took one rotten dried-up egg from one with a young one in it. Nothing could be more different than this nest and that of _S. bicolor_, so well described by Mr. Newton. That of _S. moreleti_, instead of the loose domed structure of _S. bicolor_, with a large side-entrance, composed entirely of one material, is one of the neatest nests you ever saw,—a beautiful, open, transparent nest, composed of fine roots and fibres, and lined with horsehair. It is not placed resting on a branch, but is suspended like a Reed Warbler’s (_Salicaria arundinacea_), by several small twigs. The eggs, too, differ materially.” Mr. Salvin gives no description of these eggs.

This bird was found a resident during the winter months, and in May also, at Plaza Vicente, in the State of Oaxaca, Mexico. This is in the low or hot lands of that region.

GENUS PHONIPARA, BONAP.

_Phonipara_, BONAPARTE, 1850. (Type, _Loxia canora_, GM.)

GEN. CHAR. Size very small. Wing considerably longer than the tail, but much rounded; third or fourth quill longest; first about equal to seventh. Tail very slightly rounded, the feathers broad. Bill very short and deep, but the depth through the base less than the culmen; culmen but slightly, or not appreciably, curved; bill much compressed. Feet stout; tarsi longer than the middle toe; outer toe longer than the inner, its claw just reaching the base of the middle claw; hind toe with the claw very large, and strongly curved. Among the least of American _Fringillidæ_.

The introduction of this genus into the North American fauna is the result of Mr. Maynard’s indefatigable labors in the exploration of Florida. The species are principally West Indian, a single race alone belonging to the continental portion of Middle America.

Species and Varieties.

COMMON CHARACTERS. Sexes very different. Above olive-green, beneath blackish or whitish. ♂. Head and breast black, the former with or without yellow patches. ♀ with the yellow and black indicated only, or wanting. Length, about 4.00.

A. Head without any yellow.

1. P. zena. Culmen decidedly curved. Above dull grayish
olive-green. ♂. Head and lower parts, especially
anteriorly, dull black, mixed with whitish posteriorly.
♀. Head and beneath ashy. Wing, about 2.00; tail, 1.75.
_Hab._ West Indies (Cuba, Hayti, Porto Rico, St.
Bartholomew, Jamaica, etc.); also Key West, Florida
(MAYNARD).

B. Head with yellow patches.

2. P. pusilla. Culmen perfectly straight. Above rather
bright olive-green. ♂, a supraloral stripe, a patch on
chin, and upper part of throat, with edge of wing,
bright yellow; forehead, lores, and jugulum black. ♀
with the black and yellow only indicated, or wanting.

Whole crown, cheeks, breast, and upper part of abdomen
black. _Hab._ Middle America, from Mirador to Panama,
and southward var. _pusilla_.[12]

Only isolated spots, covering forehead, lore, and base
of lower jaw, and patch on jugulum, black. _Hab._ West
Indies. (Porto Rico, Hayti, Jamaica, Cuba, etc.)
var. _olivacea_.[13]

3. P. canora.[14] Culmen decidedly curved. Above bright
olive-green; beneath pale ashy, whitish on anal region.
A bright yellow broad crescent across the lower part of
the throat, curving upward and forward, behind and over
the auriculars, to above the eye. ♂. Lores, auriculars,
and chin, and a band across the jugulum, black. ♀. Chin,
etc., chestnut-brown; no black on jugulum. _Hab._ Cuba.

[12] _Tiaris pusilla_, SWAINSON, Phil. Mag. I, 1827, 438.
_Phonipara pusilla_, SCLATER, P. Z. S. 1855, 159.

[13] _Emberiza olivacea_, GMELIN, Syst. Nat. I, 309.
_Phonipara olivacea_, SCLATER, P. Z. S. 1855, 159.

[14] _Loxia canora_, GMELIN, Syst. Nat. I, 858. _Phonipara
canora_, BONAP.

Phonipara zena, BRYANT.

THE BLACK-FACED FINCH.

_Fringilla zena_, LINN. Syst. Nat. I, (ed. 10,) 1758, 183 (based on
_Passer bicolor bahamensis_, CATESBY, Carol. I, tab. 37,
Bahamas).—BRYANT, Pr. Bost. Soc. N. H. X, 1865, 254.
_Fringilla bicolor_, LINN. Syst. Nat. I, (ed. 12,) 1766, 324
(same original as _zena_). _Spermophila bicolor_, GOSSE
(Jamaica). _Phonipara bicolor_, NEWTON (St. Croix). _? Tiaris
omissa_, JARDINE, Ann. Nat. Hist. 1847, 332 (Tobago).
_Phonipara omissa_, SCLATER. _Phonipara marchi_, BAIRD, Pr. A.
N. Sc. Phila. Nov. 1863, 297 (Jamaica). _Fringilla zena_, var.
_marchi_, BRYANT, Pr. Bost. Soc. 1867, 43. _Fringilla
(Phonipara) zena_, var. _portoricensis_, BRYANT, Pr. Bost. Soc.
X, 1865, 254 (Porto Rico).

SP. CHAR. _Male adult_ (627, Bryant coll.; Inagua). Above dull olive-green, the head and lower parts black, the two colors blending insensibly into each other; feathers of the middle of the abdomen and crissum edged with whitish. Wing, 2.10; tail, 1.80, culmen, .35; tarsus, .63; middle toe, .50.

_Female adult_ (983, Bryant coll.; Inagua). Above dull olive-green, beneath ashy, whitish on the abdomen and crissum; no black. Wing, 2.10.

_Male juv._ (981, Bryant coll.; Inagua). Like the adult female, but the head anteriorly, the chin, throat, and jugulum medially, black. Wing, 2.05.

HAB. West Indies (Bahamas; Jamaica, Porto Rico; St. Croix, Tobago?).

Quite a large series of this species from the various West Indian Islands show a considerable variation in the amount of black in male birds; nothing characteristic of the different islands, however, for, in specimens from each, individuals are to be found agreeing in every respect with the stages described above.

HABITS. The Black-faced Finch of Jamaica and other West India Islands claims a place in the fauna of the United States as an occasional visitant of Florida; of how common occurrence on that peninsula we cannot determine. It was taken there in the spring of 1871 by Mr. Maynard, and is possibly an accidental rather than a regular visitant. It is found in many of the West India Islands, though being resident in their several places of abode, they naturally exhibit certain characteristics as of distinct races. The eggs of the St. Croix bird differ considerably from those of the Jamaica one.

The Messrs. Newton, in their account of the birds of St. Croix, mention this bird as having a Bunting-like song, heard always very early in the morning. It is said to frequent the curing-houses, hopping on the uncovered sugar-hogsheads, and making a plentiful meal therefrom. It is very sociable, and feeds in small flocks, mostly on the ground among the guinea-grass. The crops of those dissected were usually found to contain small seeds. They build domed nests in low bushes, thickets of bamboo, or among creepers against the side of a house, seldom more than four feet from the ground, composed entirely of dry grass, the interior being lined with finer materials of the same. The opening is on one side, and is large for the size of the nest. They breed from the middle of May to the end of July. The eggs are white, spotted with red, especially at the larger end. The usual number of eggs is three, very rarely four. Their measurement is .65 by .50 of an inch.

In Jamaica Mr. March speaks of it as the most common of the Grass Finches, of which there are three other species, and as nesting at all seasons of the year in low trees and bushes. Near homesteads, in building their domed nests, they make use of shreds, scraps of cloth, bits of cotton, and other trash. Their eggs, he says, are three and sometimes even six in number; and he mentions their varying both as to dimensions and coloring, which may explain the difference between the eggs from St. Croix and Jamaica. Those from the latter place measure .72 by .50 of an inch, and the markings are more of a brown than a red color.

Mr. Hill adds that the Grass Finch very frequently selects a shrub on which the wasps have built, fixing the entrance close to their cells.

Mr. Gosse states that the only note of this species is a single harsh guttural squeak, difficult either to imitate or to describe.

GENUS PYRRHULOXIA, BONAP.

_Pyrrhuloxia_, BONAPARTE, Conspectus, 1850, 500. (Type, _Cardinalis
sinuatus_, BON.)

GEN. CHAR. The bill is very short and much curved, the culmen forming an arc of a circle of 60 degrees or more, and ending at a right angle with the straight gonys; the commissure abruptly much angulated anterior to the nostrils in its middle point; the lower jaw very much wider than the upper, and wider than the gonys is long; anterior portion of commissure straight. Tarsus longer than middle toe; outer lateral toes longer, not reaching the base of the middle; wing considerably rounded, first quill longer than secondaries. Tail much longer than the wing, graduated; the feathers broad, truncate. Head crested.

[Line drawing: _Pyrrhuloxia sinuata._
6370]

_Color._ Gray, with red feathers and patches.

The essential character of this genus lies in the greatly curved, very short, and broad bill, something like that of _Pyrrhula_. In other respects like _Cardinalis_, but with less graduated wing, and longer and broader tail.

Pyrrhuloxia sinuata, BONAP.

TEXAS CARDINAL.

_Cardinalis sinuatus_, BP. Pr. Zoöl. Soc. Lond. V, 1837, 111
(Mexico).—LAWRENCE, Ann. N. Y. Lyc. V, 1851, 116.—CASSIN,
Illust. I, VII, 1854, 204, pl. xxxiii. _Pyrrhuloxia sinuata_,
BON. Consp. 1850, 500.—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 508.—HEERM.
X, c. 16.—COOPER, Orn. Cal. 1, 236.

SP. CHAR. Head with an elongated, pointed crest, springing from the crown. Upper parts generally pale ashy-brown; hood, sides of neck, and under parts of body, rather paler. Long crest-feathers, bill all round including lores and encircling the eye, wing and tail, dark crimson. Chin and upper part of throat, breast, and median line of the belly, under tail-coverts, tibia, edge and inner coverts of the wings, bright carmine-red. Bill yellowish. Length, about 8.50; wing, 3.75; tail, 4.50.

_Female_ similar, with the under part brownish-yellow; middle of belly and throat only tinged with red.

HAB. Valley of the Rio Grande of Texas and westward; Cape St. Lucas; Mazatlan, Mexico.

The wing is considerably rounded, the fourth and fifth quills longest; the first as long as the secondaries, the second longer than the seventh. The tail is long, graduated on the sides, the outer about half an inch shorter than the middle. The feathers are very broad to the end and obliquely truncate. They are rather broader than in _Cardinalis virginianus_. The crest is narrower and longer, and confined to the middle of the crown; it extends back about 1.80 inches from the base of the bill.

The carmine of the breast is somewhat hidden by grayish tips to the feathers; that of the throat is streaked a little with darker. The exposed surfaces of the wing-coverts and of secondaries and tertials are like the back. The tail-feathers are tipped with brownish.

Specimens from Cape St. Lucas are very much smaller than any others, measuring only, wing, 3.30; tail, 3.80. The crest is dull carmine, instead of dark wine-purple; the red tinge on wing and tail much fainter, and the sides, as well as the gray tints everywhere, more brownish; there is none of that dark burnt-carmine tint to the red of lores and cheeks observable in all the Texas specimens. No. 49,758, Camp Grant, Arizona, is like the Cape St. Lucas birds in colors, except that the crest is dusky, but the proportions are those of the Rio Grande series.

HABITS. The Texan Cardinal was originally described as a bird of Mexico by Prince Charles Lucien Bonaparte in the Proceedings of the Zoölogical Society of London. It has since been ascertained to inhabit the southern central portions of our country, its range of extension northerly bringing it within the limits of the United States. In Texas, on the Rio Grande, it is resident throughout the year, or of but limited migration in the coldest weather. It was not observed by Dr. Coues in Arizona, but is said to occur in the southern portion of that Territory. It was found breeding at Cape St. Lucas by Mr. Xantus. It is not named by Sumichrast among the birds of Vera Cruz.

Its habits are said to be of the same general character with those of our common Cardinal.

The specimens from which this bird was first described were procured in the vicinity of the city of Mexico. The first obtained within the limits of the United States were observed by Captain McCown of the U. S. Army, at Ringgold Barracks, in Texas. Since then it has been procured by several of the naturalists accompanying the government expeditions. It was obtained in New Leon, Mexico, by Lieutenant Couch; in Texas, by Major Emory; in Texas and at El Paso, by Lieutenant Parke.

When first seen, in March, in the State of Tamaulipas, by Lieutenant Couch, it was in flocks, very shy and difficult of approach. It did not occur much in open fields, but seemed to prefer the vicinity of fences and bushes. It was often seen in company with the common Cardinal.

Dr. Kennerly found this bird quite abundant in the vicinity of El Paso, but did not observe it elsewhere. It kept generally in flocks of from three to six, frequenting the hedges and fruit-trees in the vicinity of houses. It became very restless when approached, flying from branch to branch and from tree to tree, uttering its peculiar note with great vehemence.

Dr. Heermann met with the first specimen of this bird in a dry cañon, a little to the east of the crossing of San Pedro River. It was perched on a bush, seemed wearied and lost, and was probably a wanderer. No more were seen until he reached El Paso. There he found it everywhere among the hedges and trees, and continued to meet with it occasionally on his road, until his party left civilization behind. It erects its crest as it moves actively about in search of food, and utters at intervals a clear, plaintive whistle, varied by a few detached notes.

Mr. Dresser considers this species rather a straggler from Mexico than as a Texan bird. Near Eagle Pass and Piedras Negras he found it abundant, but it became scarce as soon as he travelled a few miles into Texas. He saw none north or east of the Leona. He was told that quantities breed near Eagle Pass, and he saw not a few in cages that had been reared from the nest. He found it a shy bird, and difficult to shoot. When followed, it flies about uneasily, perching on the top of some high bush, and erecting its long crest, uttering a clear, plaintive whistle. Sometimes it would take to the thick brushwood and creep through the bushes so that it was impossible to get a shot at it. On the Lower Rio Grande it was of uncommon occurrence. He noticed a single pair near Matamoras in August, 1864.

Captain McCown, in his account of this species, published by Cassin, writes that, so far as seen on the Rio Grande, this handsome species appeared to have a strong partiality for damp and bushy woods. So far as he observed, it never ventured far from the river. He was under the impression that this bird remains in Texas all the year, having met with it so late in the fall and again so early in the spring, that, if not constantly resident, its migrations must be very limited. He describes it as a gay, sprightly bird, generally seen in company with others of the same species, frequently erecting its crest and calling to its mate or comrades. It is rather shy, and not easily approached. In its voice and general habits it appeared to him very similar to the common species.

The eggs of this species are of an oval shape, one end being only a little less rounded than the other. Their average measurement is one inch in length by .80 in breadth. Their ground-color is a dull chalky-white, over which are distributed well-defined blotches of a light umber-brown, and also a number of indistinct markings of purple. The spots are pretty uniform in these colors, but vary greatly in size and distribution. In some eggs they largely consist of fine dots, in others they are in bold blotches. In some the brown is more confluent and the effect that of a deeper shade.

GENUS CARDINALIS, BONAP.

_Cardinalis_, BONAPARTE, Saggio di una distribuzione metod. dei
Animagli Vertebrati, 1831 (Agassiz). (Type, _Loxia cardinalis_,
LINN.)

[Line drawing: _Cardinalis virginianus._
4030]

GEN. CHAR. Bill enormously large; culmen very slightly curved, commissure sinuated; lower jaw broader than the length of the gonys, considerably wider than the upper jaw, about as deep as the latter. Tarsi longer than middle toe; outer toe rather the longer, reaching a little beyond the base of the middle one; hind toe not so long. Wings moderate, reaching over the basal third of the exposed part of the tail. Four outer quills graduated; the first equal to the secondaries. Tail long, decidedly longer than the wings, considerably graduated; feathers broad, truncated a little obliquely at the end, the corners rounded. Colors red. Head crested.

The essential characters of this genus are the crested head; very large and thick bill extending far back on the forehead, and only moderately curved above; tarsus longer than middle toe; much graduated wings, the first primary equal to the secondary quills; the long tail exceeding the wings, broad and much graduated at the end.

Of this genus, only two species are known, one of them being exclusively South American, the other belonging to North America, but in different regions modified into representative races. They may be defined as follows.

Species and Varieties.

COMMON CHARACTERS. _Male._ Bright vermilion-red, more dusky purplish on upper surface; feathers adjoining base of bill black for greater or less extent. _Female._ Above olivaceous, the wings, tail, and crest reddish; beneath olivaceous-whitish, slightly tinged on jugulum with red.

C. virginianus. Culmen nearly straight; commissure with a
slight lobe; upper mandible as deep as the lower,
perfectly smooth. Bill red. Black patch covering whole
throat, its posterior outline convex. _Female._ Lining of
wing deep vermilion. Olivaceous-gray above, the wings
and tail strongly tinged with red; crest only dull red,
without darker shaft-streaks. Beneath wholly light
ochraceous. No black around bill.

A. Crest-feathers soft, blended. Rump not lighter red than
back.

_a._ Black of the lores passing broadly across forehead.
Crest brownish-red. Bill moderate.

Culmen, .75; gonys, .41; depth of bill, .54. Feathers
of dorsal region broadly margined with grayish. Wing,
4.05; tail, 4.50; crest, 1.80. _Hab._ Eastern Province
of United States, south of 40°. Bermudas
var. _virginianus_.

_b._ Black of the lores not meeting across forehead;
crest pure vermilion. Bill robust.

Culmen, .84; gonys, .47; depth of bill, .70. Feathers
of dorsal region without grayish borders; red beneath
more intense; wing, 3.60; tail, 4.20; crest, 2.00.
_Hab._ Eastern Mexico (Mirador; Yucatan; “Honduras”)
var. _coccineus_.[15]

Culmen, .82; gonys, .47; depth of bill, .65. Feathers
of dorsal region with distinct gray borders; red
beneath lighter. Wing, 4.00; tail, 5.00; crest, 2.00.
_Hab._ Cape St. Lucas, and Arizona; Tres Marias
Islands. (Perhaps all of Western Mexico, north of the
Rio Grande de Santiago.) var. _igneus_.

B. Crest-feathers stiff, compact. Rump decidedly lighter
red than the back.

Culmen, .75; gonys, .41; depth of bill, .57. Dorsal
feathers without grayish margins; red as in the last.
Wing, 3.40; tail, 3.80; crest, 2.00. _Hab._ Western
Mexico; Colima. “Acapulco et Realejo.” var. _carneus_.[16]

C. phœniceus.[17] Culmen much arched; commissure arched;
upper mandible not as deep as lower, and with grooves
forward from the nostril, parallel with the curve of the
culmen. Bill whitish-brown. Black patch restricted to the
chin, its posterior outline deeply concave.

Crest-feathers stiff and compact. No black above, or on
lores; crest pure vermilion; rump light vermilion, much
lighter than the back, which is without gray edges to
feathers. Culmen, .75; gonys, .39; height of bill, .67;
wing, 3.50; tail, 3.90; crest, 2.20. _Female._ Lining of
wing buff; above ashy-olivaceous, becoming pure ash on
head and neck, except their under side. Crest-feathers
vermilion with black shafts; no red tinge on wings, and
only a slight tinge of it on tail. Forepart of cheeks and
middle of throat white; rest of lower part deep
ochraceous. Black around bill as in the male. _Hab._
Northern South America; Venezuela; New Granada.

[15] _Cardinalis virginianus_, var. _coccineus_, RIDGWAY.

[16] _Cardinalis virginianus_, var. _carneus_. _? Cardinalis
carneus_, LESS. R. Z. 1842, 209.—BONAP. Consp. I, 501.

According to the locality quoted (“Acapulco et Realejo”)
this name is the one to be applied to the variety diagnosed
in the synopsis; it is difficult, however, to make anything
out of the description, as it is evidently taken from a
female or immature bird. If the locality quoted be correct,
this form ranges along the Pacific Coast, probably from
latitude 20° south, as far at least as Nicaragua. North of
20°, and on the Tres Marias Islands, it is replaced by var.
_igneus_, and on the Atlantic coast, from Tampico south to
Honduras, is represented by the var. _coccineus_.

In the very long, stiff crest-feathers, and light red rump,
this variety of _C. virginianus_ closely approximates to _C.
phœniceus_, but in other respects is very distinct.

[17] _Cardinalis phœniceus_, (GOULD,) BONAP. P. Z. S. 1837,
p. 111; Consp. I, 501.—SCLATER & SALVIN, Ex. Orn. Pt. VIII,
1868, pl. lxiii.

Cardinalis virginianus, BONAP.

REDBIRD; CARDINAL GROSBEAK.

_Coccothraustes virginiana_, BRISSON, Orn. III, 1760, 253. _Loxia
cardinalis_, LINN. Syst. I, 1766, 300.—WILSON, Am. Orn. II,
1810, 38, pl. vi, f. 1, 2. _Coccothraustes cardinalis_, VIEILL.
Dict. _Fringilla (Coccothraustes) cardinalis_, BON. Obs. Wils.
1825, No. 79. _Fringilla cardinalis_, NUTT. Man. I, 1832,
519.—AUD. Orn. Biog. II, 1834, 336; V, 514, pl. clix. _Pitylus
cardinalis_, AUD. Syn. 1839, 131.—IB. Birds Am. III, 1841,
198, pl. cciii. _Cardinalis virginianus_, BON. List, 1838.—IB.
Consp. 1850, 501.—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 509.—MAX. Cab. J.
VI, 1858, 268. _Grosbec de Virginie_, BUFF. Pl. enl. 37.

SP. CHAR. A flattened crest of feathers on the crown. Bill red. Body generally bright vermilion-red, darker on the back, rump, and tail. The feathers of the back and rump bordered with brownish-gray. Narrow band around the base of the bill, extending to eyes, with chin and upper part of the throat black.

_Female_ of a duller red, and this only on the wings, tail, and elongated feathers of the crown. Above light olive; tinged with yellowish on the head; beneath brownish-yellow, darkest on the sides and across the breast. Black about the head only faintly indicated. Length, 8.50; wing, 4.00; tail, 4.50; culmen, .75; depth of bill, .58; breadth of upper mandible, .35. (28,286 ♂, Mount Carmel, Southern Illinois.)

HAB. More southern portions of United States to the Missouri. Probably along valley of Rio Grande to Rocky Mountains.

The bill of this species is very large, and shaped much as in _Hedymeles ludovicianus_. The central feathers of the crest of the crown are longer than the lateral; they spring from about the middle of the crown, and extend back about an inch and a half from the base of the bill. The wings are much rounded, the fourth longest, the second equal to the seventh, the first as long as the secondaries. The tail is long, truncate at the end, but graduated on the sides; the feathers are broad to the end, truncated obliquely at the end.

Most North American specimens we have seen have the feathers of the back edged with ashy; the more northern the less brightly colored, and larger. Mexican skins (var._coccineus_) are deeper colored and without the olivaceous. In all specimens from eastern North America the frontal black is very distinct.

Specimens from the Eastern Province of United States, including Florida and the Bermudas, are all alike in possessing those features distinguishing the restricted var. _virginianus_ from the races of Mexico, namely, the wide black frontal band, and distinct gray edges to dorsal feathers, with small bill. Specimens from Florida are scarcely smaller, and are not more deeply colored than some examples from Southern Illinois. Rio Grande skins, however, are slightly less in size, though identical in other respects.

HABITS. The Cardinal Grosbeak, the Redbird of the Southern States, is one of our few birds that present the double attraction of a brilliant and showy plumage with more than usual powers of song. In New England and the more northern States it is chiefly known by its reputation as a cage-bird, both its bright plumage and its sweet song giving it a high value. It is a very rare and only an accidental visitor of Massachusetts, though a pair was once known to spend the summer and to rear its brood in the Botanical Gardens of Harvard College in Cambridge. It is by no means a common bird even in Pennsylvania. In all the Southern States, from Virginia to Mexico, it is a well-known favorite, frequenting gardens and plantations, and even breeding within the limits of the larger towns and cities. A single specimen of this bird was obtained near Dueñas, Guatemala, by Mr. Salvin.

The song of this Grosbeak is diversified, pleasant, and mellow, delivered with energy and ease, and renewed incessantly until its frequent repetitions somewhat diminish its charms. Its peculiar whistle is not only loud and clear, resembling the finest notes of the flageolet, but is so sweet and so varied that by some writers it has been considered equal even to the notes of the far-famed Nightingale of Europe. It is, however, very far from being among our best singers; yet, as it is known to remain in full song more than two thirds of the year, and while thus musical to be constant and liberal in the utterance of its sweet notes, it is entitled to a conspicuous place among our singing birds.

In its cage life the Cardinal soon becomes contented and tame, and will live many years in confinement. Wilson mentions one instance in which a Redbird was kept twenty-one years. They sing nearly throughout the year, or from January to October. In the extreme Southern States they are more or less resident, and some may be found all the year round. There is another remarkable peculiarity in this species, and one very rarely to be met with among birds, which is that the female Cardinal Grosbeak is an excellent singer, and her notes are very nearly as sweet and as good as those of her mate.

This species has been traced as far to the west in its distribution as the base of the Rocky Mountains, and into Mexico at the southwest. In Mexico it is also replaced by a very closely allied variety, and at Cape St. Lucas by still another. It is given by Mr. Lawrence among the birds occurring near New York City. He has occasionally met with it in New Jersey and at Staten Island, and, in one instance, on New York Island, when his attention was attracted to it by the loudness of its song.

It is given by Mr. Dresser as common throughout the whole of Texas during the summer, and almost throughout the year, excepting only where the _P. sinuata_ is found. At Matamoras it was very common, and may be seen caged in almost every Mexican hut. He found it breeding in great abundance about San Antonio in April and May.

Mr. Cassin states that the Cardinal Bird is also known by the name of Virginia Nightingale. He adds that it inhabits, for the greater part, low and damp woods in which there is a profuse undergrowth of bushes, and is particularly partial to the vicinity of watercourses. The male bird is rather shy and careful of exposing himself.

Wilson mentions that in the lower parts of the Southern States, in the neighborhood of settlements, he found them more numerous than elsewhere. Their clear and lively notes, even in the months of January and February, were, at that season, almost the only music. Along the roadsides and fences he found them hovering in small groups, associated with Snowbirds and various kinds of Sparrows. Even in Pennsylvania they frequent the borders of creeks and rivulets during the whole year, in sheltered hollows, covered with holly, laurel, and other evergreens. They are very fond of Indian corn, a grain that is their favorite food. They are also said to feed on various kinds of fruit.

The males of this species, during the breeding season, are described as very pugnacious, and when confined together in the same cage they fight violently. The male bird has even been known to destroy its mate. In Florida Mr. Audubon found these birds mated by the 8th of February. The nest is built in bushes, among briers, or in low trees, and in various situations, the middle of a field, near a fence, or in the interior of a thicket, and usually not far from running water. It has even been placed in the garden close to the planter’s house. It is loosely built of dry leaves and twigs, with a large proportion of dry grasses and strips of the bark of grapevines. Within, it is finished and lined with finer stems of grasses wrought into a circular form. There are usually two, and in the more Southern States three, broods in a season.

Mr. Audubon adds that they are easily raised from the nest, and have been known to breed in confinement.

The eggs of this species are of an oblong-oval shape, with but little difference at either end. Their ground-color appears to be white, but is generally so thickly marked with spots of ashy-brown and faint lavender tints as to permit but little of its ground to be seen. The eggs vary greatly in size, ranging from 1.10 inches to .98 of an inch in length, and from .80 to .78 in breadth.

Cardinalis virginianus, var. igneus, BAIRD.

CAPE CARDINAL.

_Cardinalis igneus_, BAIRD, Pr. Ac. Sc. Phila. 1859, 305 (Cape St.
Lucas).—ELLIOT, Illust. N. Am. Birds, I, xvi.—COOPER, Orn.
Cal. I, 238. _Cardinalis virginianus_, FINSCH, Abh. Nat. Brem.
1870, 339.

SP. CHAR. Resembling _virginianus_, having, like it, the distinct grayish edges to feathers of the dorsal region. Red lighter, however, and the top of head, including crest, nearly pure vermilion, instead of brownish-red. Black of the lores not passing across the forehead, reaching only to the nostril. Wing, 4.00; tail, 5.00; culmen, .83; depth of bill, .66; breadth of upper mandible, .38. (No. 49,757 ♂, Camp Grant, 60 miles east of Tucson, Arizona).

_Female_ distinguishable from that of _virginianus_ only by more swollen bill, and more restricted dusky around base of bill. _Young_: bill deep black.

HAB. Cape St. Lucas; Camp Grant, Arizona; Tres Marias Islands (off coast of Mexico, latitude between 21° and 22° north). Probably Western Mexico, from Sonora south to latitude of about 20°.

In the features pointed out above, all specimens from Arizona and Tres Marias, and of an exceedingly large series collected at Cape St. Lucas, differ from those of other regions.

No specimens are in the collection from Western Mexico as far south as Colima, but birds from this region will, without doubt, be found referrible to the present race.

HABITS. There appears to be nothing in the habits of this form of Cardinal, as far as known, to distinguish it from the Virginia bird; the nest and eggs, too, being almost identical. The latter average about one inch in length, and .80 in breadth. Their ground-color is white, with a bluish tint. Their markings are larger, and more of a rusty than an ashy brown, and the purple spots are fewer and less marked than in _C. virginianus_.

The memoranda of Mr. John Xantus show that in one instance a nest of this bird, containing two eggs, was found in a mimosa bush four feet from the ground; another nest, with one egg, in a like situation; a third, containing three eggs, was about three feet from the ground; a fourth, with two eggs, was also found in a mimosa, but only a few inches above the ground.

GENUS PIPILO, VIEILLOT.

_Pipilo_, VIEILLOT, Analyse, 1816 (AGASSIZ). (Type, _Fringilla
erythrophthalma_, LINN.)

[Line drawing: _Pipilo fuscus._
5559 ♂]

GEN. CHAR. Bill rather stout; the culmen gently curved, the gonys nearly straight; the commissure gently concave, with a decided notch near the end; the lower jaw not so deep as the upper; not as wide as the gonys is long, but wider than the base of the upper mandible. Feet large, the tarsus as long as or a little longer than the middle toe; the outer lateral toe a little the longer, and reaching a little beyond the base of the middle claw. The hind claw about equal to its toe; the two together about equal to the outer toe. Claws all stout, compressed, and moderately curved; in some western specimens the claws much larger. Wings reaching about to the end of the upper tail-coverts; short and rounded, though the primaries are considerably longer than the nearly equal secondaries and tertials; the outer four quills are graduated, the first considerably shorter than the second, and about as long as the secondaries. Tail considerably longer than the wings, moderately graduated externally; the feathers rather broad, most rounded off on the inner webs at the end.

The colors vary; the upper parts are generally uniform black or brown, sometimes olive; the under white or brown; no central streaks on the feathers. The hood sometimes differently colored.

In the large number of species or races included in this genus by authors, there are certain differences of form, such as varying graduation of tail, length of claw, etc., but scarcely sufficient to warrant its further subdivision. In coloration, however, we find several different styles, which furnish a convenient method of arrangement into groups.

Few genera in birds exhibit such constancy in trifling variations of form and color, and as these are closely connected with geographical distribution, it seems reasonable to reduce many of the so-called species to a lower rank. In the following synopsis, we arrange the whole of North American and Mexican Pipilos into four sections, with their more positive species, and in the subsequent discussion of the sections separately we shall give what appear to be the varieties.

Species.

A. Sides and lower tail-coverts rufous, in sharp contrast
with the clear white of the abdomen. Tail-feathers with
whitish patch on end of inner webs.

_a._ Head and neck black, sharply defined against the
white of breast. Rump olive or blackish.

_Black or dusky olive above._

1. P. maculatus. White spots on tips of both rows of
wing-coverts, and on scapulars. No white patch on base
of primaries. _Hab._ Mexico, and United States west of
the Missouri. (Five races.)

2. P. erythrophthalmus. No white spots on
wing-coverts, nor on scapulars. A white patch on base
of primaries. _Hab._ Eastern Province of United
States. (Two races.)

_Bright olive-green above._

3. P. macronyx.[18] Scapulars and wing-coverts (both
rows) with distinct greenish-white spots on tips of
outer webs.

4. P. chlorosoma.[19] Scapulars and wing-coverts
without trace of white spots. _Hab._ Table-lands of
Mexico. (Perhaps these are two races of one species,
_macronyx_.)

_b._ Head and neck ashy, paler on jugulum, where the
color fades gradually into the white of breast. Rump and
upper tail-coverts bright rufous.

5. P. superciliosa.[20] An obsolete whitish
superciliary stripe. Greater wing-coverts obsoletely
whitish at tips; no other white markings on upper
parts, and the tail-patches indistinct. _Hab._ Brazil.
(Perhaps not genuine _Pipilo_.)

B. Sides ashy or tinged with ochraceous; lower
tail-coverts ochraceous, not sharply contrasted with white
on the abdomen, or else the abdomen concolor with the
side. Head never black, and upper parts without light
markings (except the wing in _fuscus_ var. _albicollis_).

_a._ Wings and tail olive-green.

6. P. chlorurus. Whole pileum (except in young) deep
rufous, sharply defined. Whole throat pure white,
immaculate, and sharply defined against the
surrounding deep ash; a maxillary and a short
supraloral stripe of white. Anterior parts of body
streaked in young. _Hab._ Western Province of United
States.

_b._ Wings and tail grayish-brown.

7. P. fuscus. A whitish or ochraceous patch covering
the throat contrasting with the adjacent portions, and
bounded by dusky specks. Lores and chin like the
throat. _Hab._ Mexico, and United States west of Rocky
Mountains. (Five races.)

8. P. aberti. Throat concolor with the adjacent
portions, and without distinct spots. Lores and chin
blackish. _Hab._ Colorado region of Middle Province,
United States. (Only one form known.)

[18] _Pipilo macronyx_, SWAINSON, Phil. Mag. I, 1827, 434.
Real del Monte, Mex.—IB. Anim. in Men. 1838, 347.—BP.
Consp. 487.—SCLATER & SALVIN, 1869, 361. _Pipilo
virescens_, HARTLAUB, Cab. Jour. 1863, 228, Mex.

SP. CHAR. Prevailing color above olive-green; the head and
neck all round black, abruptly contrasted below with the
white under parts; above passing insensibly into the green
of the back; feathers of interscapular region obscurely
dusky medially; sides and crissum rufous. Scapulars and
greater and middle coverts with outer webs pale
greenish-yellow at ends; these blotches faintly margined
externally with olive-green. Edge of wing yellow; outer
primary edged with whitish, edges of other primaries and of
secondaries uniform olive-green. Fifth quill longest, fourth
and sixth scarcely shorter; first shorter than ninth. Legs
stout, claws much curved. Tail wanting in the single
specimen before us (a male from the city of Mexico,
belonging to Mr. G. N. Lawrence).

_Dimensions_ (prepared specimen): Wing, 3.70. Exposed
portion of first primary, 2.30; of second, 2.73; of longest
(measured from exposed base of first primary), 2.85. Bill:
Length from forehead, .75; from nostril, .45. Legs: Tarsus,
1.14; middle claw, .38; hind toe and claw, .85; claw alone,
.52.

In describing this species, Swainson mentions an
accompanying specimen as similar, but without any white
spots on wings, suggesting that it may be the female. A
specimen in the plumage from Oaxaca is characterized as
follows.

[19] _Pipilo chlorosoma_, BAIRD. 50,225 ♂, Oaxaca. Similar
to _P. macronyx_ in color, but without any trace of white
markings on the wings. Outer tail-feathers with an obscurely
defined greenish-white patch about an inch long, at the end
of inner web; similar, but successively smaller patches on
the second and third feathers, all whiter on upper than
lower surface. Fifth quill longest; first shorter than
ninth.

_Dimensions_ (prepared specimen): Total length, 8.20; wing,
3.75; tail, 4.80. Bill: Length from forehead, .73; from
nostril, .43. Legs: Tarsus, 1.24; middle toe and claw, 1.10;
claw alone, .36; hind toe and claw, .85; claw alone, .50.
No. 60,050, Mexico, is similar, in all essential respects.

From the analogies of the black Pipilos, it is reasonable to
consider these two birds as distinct species, or at least
varieties, especially as the specimen before us of that with
unspotted wings is marked male. The general appearance is
otherwise much the same, the unspotted bird rather smaller,
and without the dusky interscapular markings described in
_macronyx_. Should No. 50,225 represent a distinct species,
it may be called _P. chlorosoma_, and distinguished as
above. (60,050, Mexico, BOUCARD.)

[20] _Pipilo lateralis_ (NATT.). _Emberiza lateralis_, NATT.
Mus. Vind. MSS. _Poospiza lat._ BURM. Th. Bras. III, Av. 2,
p. 215. _Pipilo superciliosa_, SWAINS. An. Menag. 311, 95,
fig. 59.