_Chrysomitris_, BOIE, Isis, 1828, 322. (Type, _Fringilla spinus_,
LINN.)
_Astragalinus_, CAB. Mus. Hein. 1851, 159. (Type, _Fringilla
tristis_, LINN.)
_Hypacanthus_, CAB. Mus. Hein. 1851, 161. (Type, _Carduelis
spinoides_.)
[Line drawing: _Chrysomitris tristis._
1521 ♀]
GEN. CHAR. Bill rather acutely conic, the tip not very sharp; the
culmen slightly convex at the tip; the commissure gently curved.
Nostrils concealed. Obsolete ridges on the upper mandible. Tarsi
shorter than the middle toe; outer toe rather the longer, reaching to
the base of the middle one. Claw of hind toe shorter than the digital
portion. Wings and tail as in _Ægiothus_.
The colors are generally yellow, with black on the crown, throat,
back, wings, and tail, varied sometimes with white.
The females want the bright markings of the male.
This genus differs from _Ægiothus_ in a less acute and more curved
bill, a much less development of the bristly feathers at the base of
the bill, the claw of the hind toe shorter than its digital portion,
the claws shorter and less curved and attenuated, and the outer
lateral toes not extending beyond the base of the middle claw.
The species exhibit many differences among themselves, especially in
the size and shape of the bill, which have been made the basis of
generic distinctions. They may be distinguished as follows:—
Species and Varieties.
A. No streaks anywhere on plumage; base of tail-feathers black
or white. Sexes dissimilar. (_Chrysomitris._)
_a._ No yellow on the wings.
1. C. tristis. Inner webs of tail-feathers always whitish
terminally (except in _Juv._). ♂. Forehead and crown, wings
and tail, deep black; rest of plumage, including the back,
rich lemon-yellow; tail-coverts white. ♀. Body grayish above,
dingy whitish beneath, stained with yellow; no black on head;
wings and tail duller black. _Juv._ Fulvous-umber above, with
markings of reddish-ochraceous on the wings; beneath,
dilute-yellow washed with fulvous. _Hab._ Whole of temperate
and warm North America.
2. C. psaltria. Inner webs of tail-feathers never whitish
terminally. ♂. Beneath yellow, including the lower
tail-coverts; above black, with or without olive-green on the
back. ♀. Without any black, the yellow duller.
_Tail with white on inner webs; tertials with large white spots._
♂. Auriculars, nape, back, and rump olive-green. _Hab._
Rocky Mountains of United States … var. _psaltria_.
♂. Auriculars black; nape, back, and rump green clouded
with black. _Hab._ Arizona … var. _arizonæ_.
♂. Auriculars, nape, back, and rump entirely black. _Hab._
Middle America … var. _mexicana_.
_Tail without any white on inner webs; tertials without white
spots._
♂. Auriculars, nape, back, and rump wholly black. _Hab._
Panama and New Granada … var. _columbiana_.
_b._ Terminal half of outer webs of wing-coverts and
secondaries yellow.
3. C. lawrencii. Prevailing color ashy, lighter beneath. ♂.
A large patch on the breast, the rump, and most of the outer
surface of the wing, yellow; forehead, crown, lores, all
round base of bill, chin, wings (beneath the yellow), and
tail black. ♀. Lacking the black, and with the yellow only
indicated. _Hab._ California and Southwestern Arizona.
B. Whole body and head thickly streaked; bases of tail-feathers
yellow. Sexes alike. (_Astragalinus._)
4. C. pinus. Above brownish-gray, beneath white, with
conspicuous dusky streaks everywhere; two light bands on the
wing; bases of secondaries and primaries yellow. _Hab._ Whole
of North America.
[Illustration: PLATE XXII.
1. Hesperiphona vespertina, _var._ vespertina. ♂ H. B. Ter., 16770.
2. Ægiothus canescens, _var._ exilipes. ♂ H. B. Ter., 19686.
3. “ linaria, _var._ fuscescens. ♂ Lab’r, 18098. Summer.
4. Hesperiphona vespertina, _var._ montana. Mex., 35150.
5. Ægiothus linaria, _var._ fuscescens. Pa., 900. Winter.
6. “ flavirostris, _var._ brewsteri. Autumn.
7. Chrysomitris tristis. ♂ Pa., 1531. Summer.
8. “ “ _ad._, ♂ Pa., 2205. Winter.
9. Chrysomitris psaltria. ♂ Cal., 6401.
10. “ “ ♀ Cal., 3930.
11. “ mexicana, _var._ arizonæ. ♂ Ariz., 37091.
12. “ “ _var._ mexicana. Mex., 4078.
13. Chrysomitris psaltria, _var._ mexicana. ♀ Mex., 22432.
14. “ lawrencii. ♂ Cal., 6405.
15. “ “ ♀ Cal., 40836.
16. “ pinus. ♂ Rocky Mts., 11095.]
Three species of _Chrysomitris_, given by Mr. Audubon, are to be
erased from the list: _C. stanleyi_, _C. yarrelli_, and _C.
magellanica_. If, as he states, he killed specimens of the latter in
Kentucky, they must have belonged to the _C. notata_ of Dubus, a
Mexican species, not since met with in our limits. The other two were
given him as coming from California,—a statement we now know to be
incorrect, both belonging to South America.
Chrysomitris tristis, BON.