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THE NONPAREIL BUNTING.
Cyajiospiza ciris, Linn.
A VERY common species iu tlie Soutliern United States, spreading- along tlie
coast as far north as Carolina; southwards to Texas, Central America
from Mexico to Guatemala and Panama, Cuba, the Bahamas, Cozumel and neighbouring
islands.
The cock bird has the crown of the head, cheeks and mantle of an almost
ultramarine blue; the back golden green shading into orange on the lower portion;
the upper tail-coverts yellow shading into golden green; the tail feathers duller
green; the wing feathers greyish bronze; the lesser coverts being wholly bronze,
but the remaining feathers with a golden green outer web; axillaries reddish; chin^
throat, breast, belly and under tail-coverts bright Vermillion red; sides and'flanks
slightly tinged with green. Length five inches; beak and legs dark grey; feathers
encircling eye orange; iris hazel.
In confinement, excepting in an open sunny aviary, all the vermillion colouring
gradually disappears from the under surface, which becomes bright yellow excepting
on the chin, which sometimes retains a reddish tinge.
The hen is altogether duller in colouring than the cock : the upper surface
being entirely bronze green; the wing feathers mostly dusky, with green outer
webs; the central tail feathers dull green, the remainder dusky with dull green
outer borders; the lores greyish; feathers encircling the eye yellowish; sides of face
and ear-coverts with a buff tinge; under surface dull yellow, slightly tinged with
browTi on the sides and flanks; under wing-coverts greenish grey; flight'^ smoky
with gre37ish inner webs. Length five and three-tenth inches, sometimes smaller.*
Some years ago I turned a pair of this species into one of my bird-room
aviaries, but they showed no disposition to breed: moreover the hen proved to be
delicate and only lived for about six months; this was disappointing, especially as