Part 55

Male, 7, 13.

In winter, from Nova Scotia to Kentucky. Abundant. Much rarer along the Atlantic coast. Some breed in Vermont and Massachusetts. Fur Countries in summer.

Snow-Bunting, Emberiza nivalis, Wils. Amer. Orn. v. iii. p. 86.

Emberiza nivalis, Bonap. Syn. p. 103.

Emberiza (Plectrophanes) nivalis, Snow Buntling, Swains. & Rich. F. Bor. Amer. v. ii. p. 247.

Snow Bunting, Emberiza nivalis, Nutt. Man. v. i. p. 458.

Snow Bunting, Emberiza nivalis, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. ii. p. 515; v. v. p. 496.

GENUS II. EMBERIZA, Linn. BUNTING.

Bill short, robust, tapering, somewhat compressed; upper mandible with its dorsal line declinate and slightly convex, the ridge indistinct, the sides convex, the edges a little inflected, ascending to beneath the nostrils, then descending or direct, with a slight notch close to the narrow tip; lower mandible with the angle short and wide, the dorsal line ascending, and very slightly convex, the ridge broad at the base, the sides convex, the edges inclinate, their outline ascending for a third or more of its length, then direct, the tip narrow. Nostrils basal, roundish. Head large, ovate; neck very short; body rather stout. Feet of moderate length, rather strong; tarsus of ordinary length, compressed, with seven anterior scutella; toes rather large; the hind toe strong, and longer than the lateral, which are equal, the third much longer, and united to the fourth at the base. Claws long, arched, much compressed, acute. Plumage soft and blended, but firm. Bristles feeble. Wings of moderate length, rather acute; the first three quills longest. Tail of moderate length, emarginate.

* Wings rather long, with the second and third quills longest.

156. 1. Emberiza Americana, Gmel. Black-throated Bunting.

Plate CCCLXXXIV. Male and Female.

Bill very stout; tail-feathers acute. Male with the upper part of the head, the cheeks, and the hind neck dark ash-grey, faintly streaked with dusky; loral space whitish, a band over the eye, and a patch below the cheek, yellow; the fore part of the back greyish-brown, with longitudinal streaks of brownish-black, the hind part brownish-grey; the smaller wing-coverts bright chestnut; chin white, throat black; the lower neck and part of the breast, yellow, the rest of the breast and abdomen, white. Female similar to the male, but paler, and without the black patch on the throat.

Male, 6-1/2, 10-3/8.

Breeds abundantly in Texas and all the Western Prairies; less so from Virginia to Massachusetts. Rare in Ohio and Kentucky. Migratory.

Black-throated Bunting, Emberiza Americana, Wils. Amer. Orn. v. i. p. 411.

Fringilla Americana, Bonap. Syn. p. 107.

Black-throated Bunting, Nutt. Man. v. i. p. 461.

Black-throated Bunting, Emberiza Americana, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. iv. p. 599.

157. 2. Emberiza Townsendii, Aud. Townsend's Bunting.

Plate CCCC. Fig. 4. Male.

Bill very stout, with the upper outline considerably convex. Head, cheeks, hind neck, sides of the neck, fore part of the breast, and sides of the body, deep bluish-grey, the head streaked with black; back yellowish-brown, streaked with dusky, the feathers edged with grey, rump yellowish-grey; quills and tail-feathers wood-brown, slightly edged with paler; a narrow white line over the eye; throat white, with a narrow band of black on each side; abdomen and middle part of breast greyish-white.

Male, 5-3/4, 9.

One specimen (in my possession) procured in Pennsylvania.

Townsend's Bunting, Emberiza Townsendii, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. ii. p. 183; v. v. p. 90.

158. 3. Emberiza Grammaca, Say. Lark Bunting.

Plate CCCXC. Fig. 1. Male.

Second and third quills longest, first and fourth about equal; tail rather long, rounded. Male with three longitudinal bands of white on the head, separated by two bands of bright chestnut-red, the anterior part of which is black; upper parts light greyish-brown, longitudinally streaked with dusky, the central part of each feather being of the latter colour, the hind part of the back and the rump without streaks; two faint bands of yellowish-white on the wings, formed by the tips of the first row of small coverts, and those of the secondary coverts, and a patch of the same formed by the bases of the outer primaries; quills dusky brown, primaries margined with whitish, secondaries more broadly with light red; tail darker, all the feathers except the middle, terminated by white, which, on the outer, occupies more than a third of its length, and extends nearly to the base of the outer web; below the eye a white streak, cheeks bright chestnut, with an anterior black spot, under them a broad white band from the lower mandible, curving upwards, separated from the throat, which is white, by a short line of black on each side; lower parts white, the lower part of the neck greyish, the sides tinged with greyish-white. Female similar to the male, but with the head simply coloured like the back, and the sides streaked with brown.