Bill short, rather small, conical, acute; upper mandible a little broader than the lower, its dorsal line straight, slightly declinate at the tip, the sides convex, the edges nearly straight, slightly inflected, but overlapping; lower mandible with the angle short and rounded, the dorsal line straight, the sides convex, the edges a little inflected, the tip acute. Nostrils basal, roundish, concealed by the feathers. Head broadly ovate; neck short; body full. Feet of moderate length; tarsus rather short, stout, with seven scutella; toes rather strong, the first stout, the lateral equal. Claws rather long, arched, compressed, laterally grooved, tapering to a fine point. Plumage very soft and blended. Wings rather short, curved, rounded, second, third, and fourth quills longest, first longer than fifth. Tail rather long, slightly emarginate. Roof of upper mandible concave, with thin ridges, and a small knob at the base; tongue narrow, deep, grooved above, tapering to a horny point; œsophagus dilated about the middle; stomach rather small, roundish, muscular; intestine rather short; cœca very small. Name from [Greek: Niphos], snow. 167. 1. Niphæa hyemalis, Linn. Common Snow-Bird. Plate XIII. Male and Female. Male with the head, hind neck, fore part of the breast, back, wings, and upper parts of the sides, greyish-black, deeper on the head and throat; quills margined with whitish; tail with the two lateral feathers on each side, and a patch on the inner web of the next white, as are the breast and abdomen. Female lighter grey, on the back tinged with brown. _Male_, 6-1/4, 9. Distributed, in winter, over the Southern, Western, and Middle Districts, as far as the base of the Rocky Mountains, and in the Fur Countries. Breeds from Maryland eastward, on the mountains. Very abundant. Snow Bird, Fringilla nivalis, Wils. Amer. Orn. v. ii. p. 129. Fringilla hyemalis, Bonap. Syn. p. 109. Fringilla hyemalis, Black Finch, Swains. & Rich. F. Bor. Amer. v. ii. p. 505. Common Snow-Bird, Fringilla Hudsonia, Nutt. Man. v. i. p. 491. Snow-Bird, Fringilla hyemalis, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. i. p. 72; v. v. p. 505. 168. 2. Niphæa Oregona, Towns. Oregon Snow-Bird. Plate CCCXCVIII. Fig. 3. Male. Fig. 4. Female. Male with the head, neck all round, and a portion of the breast black; the rest of the lower parts white, excepting the sides, which are tinged with brown; fore part of back reddish-brown, rump dull grey; quills dusky, the primaries edged with grey, the secondaries with reddish-brown; tail dusky, with the outer two feathers on each side white. Female with the head and neck blackish-grey, the back and wing-coverts dull brownish-red, the other parts as in the male. _Male_, 6-1/4; wing, 3-1/12. Columbia River. Common. Migratory. Fringilla oregona, Oregon Snow-Finch, Towns. Journ. Acad. Nat. Sc. Philadelphia, v. vii. p. 188.