84 Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington. 



all Pedioecetes within the State to campestris, a conclusion also 

 continued in the second supplement in 1900.* 



The third supplement to this work appeared in 1909, t with 

 something like order reached, when both columbianus and 

 campestris were admitted to a place in the list, but with an im- 

 possible range attributed to the former and the theory advanced 

 that campestris was then extinct in the State. 



Following this came Mr. Sclater's "History of the Birds of 

 Colorado," published in 1912, X which more than ever confused 

 the subject by again including all Colorado examples under 

 campestris, and thus the matter has stood to the evident incon- 

 venience of the taxonomist as well as the local student. 



That a thorough investigation would be necessary, was readily 

 apparent, and this it has been the privilege of the writer to 

 carry out, with results of more than ordinary interest, when 

 considering the contradictory character of the literature re- 

 ferred to. 



Decidedly the most important feature of the work has been 

 the discovery of an apparently unrecognized race which may be 

 described at this point, as it occupies a most vital position in 

 unraveling the tangle. 



For this new subspecies, I propose the name: 



Pedioecetes phasianellus jamesi, sp. nov. 



JAMES'S SHARP-TAILED GROUSE. § 



Chars, subsp. — Similar in part to both Pedioecetes p. columbianus and 

 P. p. campestris, but with relatively longer wings and tail, shorter tarsi, 

 and with bill shorter, heavier and more acutely curved than in either. 



Description. — Type ; adult male; Colorado Museum of Natural History, 

 No. 4951; three miles west of Castle Eock, Colo., February 15, 1916; 

 collected by A. H. Burns. 



Coloration of upper parts, including rump and upper tail-coverts, simi- 

 lar to columbianus, but lighter; pileum and occiput dusky, feathers more 

 narrowly edged with light rufous, not banded, tipped with creamy white ; 



* The Birds of Colorado. By W. W. Cooke. Bull. No. 56, Agri. Exper. Sta.. Ft. 

 Collins, Colo., May, 1900. A second appendix to Bull. No. 37. 



+ The Birds of Colorado— Third Supplement. By Wells W. Cooke. Auk, Vol. 

 XXVI, 1909, pp. 400-423. 



X A History of the Birds of Colorado. By W. L. Sclater. Witherby & Co., London. 

 1912. 



§It is with much pleasure that I propose to name this new subspecies in honor of 

 Mr. Harry C. James of Denver, a veteran sportsman, through whose interest and 

 enthusiasm the bird was first brought to my attention, and through whose personal 

 efforts many of the specimens were secured. 



