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. Oesophagus nearly uniform, stomach pretty large, roundish, its lateral muscles strong.
203. 1. Pitylus Cardinalis, Linn. Common Cardinal Grosbeak.--Cardinal Bird. Red Bird. Virginian Nightingale.
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.
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.