BREWSTER: BIRDS OF THE CAPE KEGION, LOWER CALIFORNIA. 153 



the crown is but slightly more rufescent than that of the back. In others it is 

 nearly as much so as in spring. As a rule, the coloring of the upper parts is 

 clearer and more olivaceous in autumnal than in spring specimens. 



Individual variations : — The most marked individual variation is in respect 

 to the number and size of the black spots on the jugulum. These are some- 

 times numerous, large, and conspicuous, sometimes almost wholly wanting. 

 As a rule, they form a fairly well-defined border about the buffy space which 

 they enclose. Several birds have the throat as well as the jugulum spotted 

 finely but thickly over its entire extent. As Mr. Eidgway has remarked, the 

 buffy of the throat is not always palest posteriorly, being sometimes uniform 

 throughout. Most of my specimens have the outer tail feathers narrowly 

 tipped with rusty, but in a few these feathers are perfectly plain. The rufes- 

 cent color of the crown is a constant character in spring birds. 



The collection contains a partial albino (No. 16,977) taken at San Jose del 

 Rancho on July 6. 



This Towhee, which was discovered at Cape St. Lucas by Mr. Xantus, is 

 confined to Lower California. In the Cape Region it was " not often seen at 

 any locality" by Mr. Belding during his visit of 1881-82, and it receives no 

 mention whatever in the paper relating to his explorations of the following 

 year. Mr. Frazar, however, collected over one hundred specimejis, and notes 

 the bird as " common about La Paz up to the middle of March, after which it 

 entirely disappeared; exceedingly abundant at Triunfo in April, but only 

 common in June, and less numerous still in December; rare on the top of the 

 Sierra de la Laguna in May and early June ; and not common at San Jose del 

 Rancho in December." At San Jose del Cabo a specimen taken on October 29 

 was the only one seen. These facts indicate that the birds move about a good 

 deal at different seasons, and that many which winter in the Cape Region 

 breed further to the northward. 



Mr. Bryant says that he has found albigula "as far north aslat. 30°." Since 

 this statement was published, however, Mr. Anthony has described P. f. senicula 

 which, he states, is intermediate in coloring, as well as in distribution, between 

 crissalis and albigula, and to which he apparently refers all the birds that he 

 has seen from the upper parts of the Peninsula " as far south as 29° at least," 

 adding " it is to be regretted that there are no specimens available from the 

 country between San Fernando and Cape St. Lucas." ^ It should be noted in 

 this connection that San Fernando is in about latitude 29° 30' north,^ and 

 hence very near the point to which Mr. Bryant claims that the northern 

 range of albigula extends. This evidence leaves us in doubt as to whether or 

 not the forms albigula and senicula meet during the breeding season in the 

 central portions of Lower California. We are also ignorant as to whether or 

 not they intergrade. Mr. Ridgway treats albigula as a full species in his 

 Birds of North and Middle America, but in view of the uncertainties just 

 discussed, I prefer to include it here as a subspecies of P. fuscus. 



1 Auk, XIL 1895, 109-112. 2 Anthony, Loc. cit., 134. 



