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.
Phonipara, Bonaparte, 1850. (Type, Loxia canora, Gm.)
Phonipara zena.
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.
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.
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.
Pyrrhuloxia, Bonaparte, Conspectus, 1850, 500. (Type, Cardinalis sinuatus, Bon.)
Gen. Char. The bill is
