inflexed; palate vaulted and without knob; nostrils concealed by sparse, short, incumbent feathers ; sides of bill provided with stiff, appressed bristles. Tarsi short and stout, and never exceeding middle toes ; claws short, stout, and much curved. Wings somewhat pointed, and longer than the tail, which is nearly even, emarginated, and but moderately rounded.
Pyrgita domestica, Cuv. The House Sparrow.
Sp. Char. Male: Upper parts chestnut-brown ; summit of caput and nape, lower back, rump and tail coverts cinereous ; interscapular feathers, on inner webs, streaked with black ; chin, throat, lores, and narrow frontal line black ; residue of inferior parts grayish, passing into white along the middle region. Behind the eye, running into the chestnut of the back, is a broad concolorous band ; cheeks and lateral walls of neck white. Exterior of closed wings chestnut-brown, with the middle coverts marked with a broad white band ; lesser coverts dark chestnut. Tail dark brown, bordered with pale chestnut. Mandibles black ; feet reddish ; iris brown.
Female: Duller colored and wanting the black of throat and face. Cheek cinereous; the eyes marked above and posteriorly by a yellow-ochre band. A similar colored band crosses the wings. Head and neck above ashy, tinged with brown ; body superiorly, reddish cinereous, with longitudinal black streaks ; breast and abdomen reddish-ash.
Length, 6.00; wing, 2.84; tail, 2.50; tarsus, .70; middle toe and claw, .60.
