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406 BULLETIN 133, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
that there is no sharp dividing line. Phrygilus unicolor (d'Orbigny
and Lafresnaye), Avhich has been proposed as type of a genus
Geospizopsis Bonaparte/^ is identical in form with P. gayi and
must be considered a synonym of true Phrygilus.
Haplospiza Cabanis/^ with Haplospiza. unicolor Cabanis as its
type, is closely similar to certain forms of Phrygilus unicolor in
general appearance. It differs structurally from true Phrygilus in
more rounded tail, more rounded wing tip, in having the ninth
(outermost) primary shorter than the third, about equal to the
second, more attenuate bill, and shorter lateral toes, with the fourth
toe without claw reaching barely beyond the base of the last joint
of the middle toe, and the second toe without claw barely extended
to that point. Haplospiza unicolor^ in addition to smaller size, is
distinguished at a glance from any Phrygilus in lacking any edging
of lighter color on the outer webs of the primaries.
Near General Roca, Phrygilus fruticeti was common from Novem-
ber 25 to December 2 (four prepared as skins), and others were re-
corded at Zapala, Neuquen (one taken). The birds were not breeding,
but were gathered in little flocks that fed on the open ground
under shelter of desert shrubs of various species. The birds were
wary, and at any alarm rose and flew with a swiftly darting or
undulating flight for long distances before again dropping to cover.
In early morning they rested in low bushes in the sun. Their call
was a low, mewing note or a sharp pUck. On December 2 males were
singing a song that sounded like the effort of some icterid.
On comparison of a good series that includes 10 skins fronj the
highlands of Peru, 5 from central Chile, and 11 from Rio Negro
and Neuquen, in Argentine Patagonia, it appears that Phrygilus
fruticeti pemviwruas Zimmer,^^ while not sharply differentiated, may
be distinguished from true fruticeti in adult males by the grayer
coloration above, with more sharply defined, blacker streaks, and
in females by heavier streaking above, especially on the head. The
white spots on middle and greater coverts are usually, but not always,
larger in peruvianus. In size the two forms, from the series at hand,
appear quite similar, except that in Peruvian birds the bill is
slightly larger. In five males from La Raya and one from Are-
•quipa, Peru, the wing ranges from 94 to 100.5 mm., the bill from
14.4 to 15.5 mm. ; in three males from Santiago and central Chile the
range is from 94 to 100.2 and 13-2 to 13.5 mm. ; while in five from Rio
Negro, Argentina (General Roca, Arroyo Cumallo, Arroyo Seco,
Paja Alta, and Nahuel Niyeu), it is 91 to 98 and 13 to 14.7 mm.
The length of wing, it will be noted, is practically identical.
^ Compt. Rend., vol. 42, 1856, p. 955.
^Mus. Hein., pt. 1, April, 1851, p. 147.
13 Field Mus. Nat. Hist, Zool. Ser., vol. 12, Apr. 19, 1924, p. 63. (Matucana, Peru.)
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