  Fringilla Macgillivraii. Bill rather long, in other respects similar to those of the two species mentioned above, as are the proportions of the different parts, and the texture of the plumage. The second, third, and fourth quills are equal and longest, and the tail is rounded. Bill dusky-brown above, the sides of the upper mandible paler, the lower mandible bluish-grey. Iris hazel. Feet dark brown. The colouring is similar to that of F. maritima in the upper parts, and to that of F. caudacuta in the lower, but is darker above than the former, and duller beneath than the latter. Feathers of the head brownish-black margined with dull greyish-brown, but not grey in the middle nor darker towards the sides, as in the other species. Hind neck and back of the same colour, the middle of the latter having some of the margins pale reddish-brown. Primary quills hair-brown; secondary dark brown, edged with reddish-brown; the secondary and smaller coverts like the latter; the edge of the wing white, slightly tinged with yellow. Tail-feathers hair-brown at the edges, the centre blackish-brown, except the lateral, which are plain, but scarcely paler. A yellowish-brown streak from the nostrils over the eye. Throat and fore neck greyish-white, with an indistinct dusky streak on each side. Breast and sides pale dull yellowish-brown, Length 5½ inches, extent of wings 7¾; bill along the back 6½/12, along the edge 8/12; tarsus 11/12. The different species can be readily distinguished by attending to the above particulars. Macgillivray's Finch is in size intermediate between the other two, and in colouring it resembles both, as has been stated above. When the three are together it is very easy to distinguish that species from the rest, by the greater length of the bill and tarsus, and the greater breadth of the black band along the middle of each tail-feather. In all the species, the bills of individuals differ greatly in length, old birds having them much longer than younger ones. In the republication of Wilson's Ornithology, by Sir William Jardine, Bart., the editor makes the following statement.—"Mr Audubon has figured a bird very closely allied in plumage, under the name of Ammodramus Henslowii, and, in the letter press, has described it as Henslow's Bunting, Emberiza Henslowii. It will evidently come under the first genus, and if new and distinct, will form a third North American species. It is named after Professor Henslow of Cambridge, and was obtained near Cincinnati. There is no account of its history and habits."—Vol. ii. p. 78. I have already shewn that the species is a perfectly distinct one, but its affinities are not with Ammodramus. During my last three years' rambles in the United States, my friends, my assistants, and myself, procured hundreds of specimens of the Henslow's Bunting, and gained much information respecting its habits, which are totally different from those of Fringilla caudacuta or F. maritima. The Henslow Bunting is never found near salt water marshes, as these species always are, but spends its life on dry elevated meadows and in sandy open pine forests, where it passes the winter in the Southern and Western Districts. As to the similarity of colouring alluded to, I cannot see the least resemblance between the birds in question, in that respect, more than in size or shape. This might have become apparent, had he compared my figure of the Henslow Bunting with that given by Wilson, which in my humble opinion is incorrect. I have not represented the nest of F. maritima along with my figures of that bird, although this has been asserted. |
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