Plate CCCXC. Fig. 2. Male. Fig. 3. Female.
Male black, slightly tinged with grey; a large patch of white on the
wing, including some of the smaller coverts, the tips of the first
row, and their secondary coverts; primaries and outer secondaries
narrowly, inner secondaries broadly margined with white; tail-feathers
narrowly edged with white, and having a narrow speck of the same at
the end of the inner web. Female smaller, with the upper parts
greyish-brown, streaked with dusky brown; the lower white, with oblong
spots of brownish-black, the abdomen nearly pure white, their sides
tinged with reddish-brown; quills dark brown, edged and tipped with
reddish-white; the patch on the wing of the same tint; tail-feathers
dark brown, the outer externally edged, and all tipped with white on
the inner web.
_Male_, 7, wing 3-5/12.
Plains of the Platte River. Plentiful. Migratory.
Fringilla bicolor, Prairie Finch, Towns. Journ. Acad. Nat. Sc.
Philadelphia, v. vii. p. 189.
Prairie Finch, Fringilla bicolor, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. v. p. 19.
GENUS XV. PITYLUS, Cuvier. CARDINAL GROSBEAK.
Bill rather short, very robust, much higher than broad, tapering to a
point; upper mandible considerably smaller than the lower, with the
dorsal line convex, the ridge indistinct, the nasal sinus very wide,
the sides convex, the edges ascending rapidly for a third of their
length, then direct, with a slight festoon, slightly inflected, the
notches faint, the tip a little deflected and narrow; lower mandible
with the angle semicircular, the dorsal line straight, the sides at
the base inflected, toward the end convex, the edges involute, the tip
acute. Nostrils basal, round, concealed by the feathers. Plumage soft
and blended, feathers of the head elongated and erectile; distinct
bristles at the base of the upper mandible. Wings of moderate length,
much rounded, the fourth and fifth quills longest, the first and
eighth about equal. Tail long, rounded. Tarsus short, compressed, with
seven scutella; toes moderate, hind toe stout, broad beneath, outer
toe slightly longer than inner, and adherent at the base. Claws
moderate, arched, compressed, acute. Upper mandible concave beneath,
with three longitudinal ridges; tongue as high as broad, convex above,
tapering to a point. Œsophagus nearly uniform, stomach pretty
large, roundish, its lateral muscles strong.
203. 1. Pitylus Cardinalis, Linn. Common Cardinal Grosbeak.--Cardinal
Bird. Red Bird. Virginian Nightingale.
Plate CLIX. Male and Female.
Male with the bill coral-red; plumage vermilion, duller on the upper
parts; anterior part of forehead, lores, and throat black, inner webs
of quills brown. Female with the bill paler, the upper parts
yellowish-grey, the lower greyish-yellow, capistrum dusky; some of the
crest-feathers, the wings and tail, as in the male, but of a fainter
tint.
_Male_, 8-1/2, 11-1/2.
Breeds abundantly from Texas to New York. Very rare in Massachusetts.
Valleys of the Mississippi and Missouri, Kentucky and Ohio. Resident
from Maryland southward.
Cardinal Grosbeak, Loxia cardinalis, Wils. Amer. Orn. v. ii.
p. 38.
Fringilla cardinalis, Bonap. Syn. p. 113.
Cardinal Grosbeak or Red Bird, Fringilla cardinalis, Nutt.
Man. v. i. p. 519.
Cardinal Grosbeak, Fringilla cardinalis, Aud. Orn. Biog. v.
ii. p. 336; v. v. p. 514.
GENUS XVI. COCCOBORUS, Swains. SONG-GROSBEAK.
Bill rather short, extremely robust, almost as broad as the head and
somewhat compressed, tapering to a point; upper mandible considerably
smaller than the lower, with the dorsal line convex, the ridge
indistinct, the nasal sinus very wide, the sides convex, the edges
ascending for a third of their length, then direct, with a slight
festoon, and inflected, the notches faint, the tip a little deflected,
and narrow; lower mandible with the angle short and semicircular, the
dorsal line straight, the sides at the base inflected, toward the end
convex, the edges involute, the tip acute. Nostrils basal, round.
Plumage somewhat compact, blended; distinct bristles at the base of
the upper mandible. Wings of moderate length, pointed, the outer three
quills nearly equal, the second longest. Tail of moderate length,
slightly emarginate. Tarsus short, compressed, with seven scutella;
toes moderate, hind toe stout, broad beneath, outer toe slightly
longer than inner, and adherent at the base. Claws moderate, arched,
compressed, acute. Upper mandible concave beneath, with three
longitudinal ridges; tongue as high as broad, convex above, tapering
to a point; œsophagus rather wide, dilated about the middle;
stomach rather small, roundish, compressed, with its muscles distinct
and of moderate thickness, the epithelium longitudinally rugous;
intestine short, and of moderate width; cœca very small.