SNOW BIRD.
FRINGILLA HYEMALIS, Linn. Syst. Nat. Ed. 10. p. 183—Ch. Bonaparte, Synopsis of
Birds ol* the United States, p. 109.
EMBERIZA HYEMALIS, Linn. Syst. Nat. Ed. 12. p. 308.
SNOW BIRD, FRINGILLA NIVALIS, Wilson, American Ornithology, vol. ii. p. 129.
PI. 16. fig. 6.
Adult Male. Plate X I I I . Fig. 1.
Bill short, rather small, conical, very acute; upper mandible a little
broader than the lower, very slightly declínate at the tip, rounded on the
sides, as is the lower, which has the edges inflected and acute; the gap
line straight, not extending to beneath the eye. Nostrils basal, roundish,
concealed by the feathers. Head rather large. Neck short. Body full.
Legs of moderate length, slender; tarsus longer than the middle toe,
covered anteriorly with a few longish scutella; toes scutellate above, free,
the lateral ones nearly equal; claws very slender, greatly compressed,
acute and slightly arched, that of the hind toe little larger.
Plumage soft and blended. Wings shortish, curved, rounded, the
third and fourth quills longest, the second nearly as long, the first little
shorter. Tail long, forked, the lateral feathers curved outwards a little
towards the tip.
Bill white, tinged with red, dark coloured at the tip. Iris blackishbrown.
Feet and claws flesh-coloured. Head, neck, fore part of the
breast, back, wings and upper part of the sides, blackish-grey, deeper on
the head. Quills margined with whitish; tail of the same dark colour as
the wings, excepting the two outer feathers on each side, which are white,
as are the lower breast and abdomen.
Length inches, extent of wings 9 ; beak £ along the ridge, ¿ along
the gap ; tarsus f, middle toe £.
Adult Female. Plate X I I I . Fig. %
The female differs from the male in being of a lighter grey, tinged on
the back with brown. Length 5£ inches.
SNOW BIRD. 75
THE LARGE TUPELO.
NYSSA TOMENTOSA, Wild. Sp. PL vol. iv. p. 1113. Pnrsh, Flora Americ p. 177-
, GRANDIDENTATA, Michatue, Arbr. Forest. dePAmer. Sept. t. ii. p. 2 5 2 . PI. 19.
POLYGAMIA DIOSCIA, Linn. ELÜEAGNI, JUSS.
This species, which occurs in the Southern States only, growing in low
and marshy grounds, attains a height of from seventy to eighty feet, with
a diameter of eighteen or twenty inches some feet above the ground, although
at the very base it is sometimes five or six feet. The leaves are
five or six inches in length, elliptical, acuminate, distantly toothed, when
young very downy, but finally smooth. The fruit is oblong, and of a
dark purple colour. The wood is remarkably light and soft.