United States War Dept

Reports of Explorations and Surveys United States War Dept

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1858 Excerpt: ... Grmelin, No. 85. Here he states that "the americana Euspiza americana of 1838) is certainly not an Emberiza, and is evidently congeneric with some of Wilson's Fringillae; such as. F. melodia, savanna, socialis, passerina, &c. For these birds I was about to propose the adoption of a new genus under the name of Spiza, (Greek appellation of the Fringilla coelebs,) intermediate between Fringilla and Emberiza, but much more closely allied to the former. After an attentive examination of the intermediate species, I shall, however, consider it a sub-genus under Fringilla." "The bird under consideration must, according to this innovation, be ranged under the subgenus Spiza, and be called Fringilla americana." None of the species of modern Spiza are mentioned on this page. On a subsequent one, No. 90, speaking of Emberiza ciris, he says: " This bird and the one that Wilson so accurately called Fringilla cyanea belong not only to the same genus, but are very closely allied, and may be placed under the sub-genus Spiza, if they will not constitute a small one of themselves/' In the American Ornithology, vol. I, 1825, 61, in the article on Fringilla amoena, after referring to his remarks on the nomenclature of Wilson's Ornithology, published the previous year, Bonaparte says: "As a species it Fringilla amoena) is more intimately allied to Fringilla ciris and F. cyanea, which I stated in that paper (observations on Wilson) to differ so much from their congeners, (i. e., the sub-genus Spiza,) particularly in the greater curvature of the upper mandible, as to deserve perhaps a separation into a small sub-genus by themselves, (i. e., distinct from Spiza); this would unite Fringilla to Tanagra, as Spiza, on the other hand, shows its transitio...