252 BULLETIN OF THE 



In my " Catalogue of the Birds of Massachusetts,"* published in 1864, 

 I first advanced the opinion that the so-called Tun/us Alicia- Baird was 

 the paler form of T. Swainsoni. To this view other writers have taken 

 exception. Professor Baird, in his " Review of American Birds " (p. 21), 

 summarily disposes of the matter by presuming that I had not seen what he 

 called T. Alicice. In 18G8, in my " Notes on the Birds of Iowa, Illinois," 

 etc.,t I again reviewed the subject, having in the mean time examined 

 some twenty specimens sent out by the Smithsonian Institution to different 

 scientific institutions, labelled respectively, " Turdus Alicia," " Tardus 

 Ahem?" "Turdus Alicice? hybrid?" "Turdus Swainsoni" "Turdus 

 Swainsoni ?" " Tardus Swainsoni f hybrid ? " Alter having examined these 

 authentic specimens of the bird in question, and also large numbers of Mas- 

 sachusetts examples of what I called Turdus Swainsoni, — among which 

 are a considerable number that correspond in every particular respectively 

 with the typical, authentic specimens of" Turdus Swainsoni" and " Turdus 

 Alicice " of Baird, the larger number, however, being intermediate in char- 

 acter between them, and agreeing with specimens sent out from the Smith- 

 sonian Institution as "T. Swainsoni f" "Turdus Alicice ? " "Tardus Alicia; ? 

 hybrid?" etc, — I state in this paper that the opinion I had previously 

 expressed in respect to Turdus Swainsoni and Turdus Alicice was fully 

 confirmed. In this paper I discussed at some length the variations pre- 

 sented, not only by this species, but by Turdus Pullasi and Turdus fus- 

 cescens, and the character of their supposed allies, T. Auduboni, T. nanus, 

 and T. uslulatus, and their supposed respective habitats. I gave also some 

 details in respect to the variations in general size, form of the bill, propor- 

 tions of the primary quills of the wing, etc., as well as in color, and con- 

 cluded that Turdus Alicia was based on simply individual variation in 

 color, the other differences, as of size, form of bill, etc., supposed at first to 

 characterize it, being rarely coincident with the variations in color, they 

 occurring as frequently in the one type of coloration as in the other. 

 Turdus nanus and Tardus uslldatus I also deemed to hold the same 

 relation-hip to 7'. Pullasi and 7'. fuscescens that 7'. Alicia dues to T. 

 Swainsoni. Though described as exclusively western, I stated I had found 

 specimens in .Massachusetts that accorded with them in every particular. 

 After having given the subject still further attention, I am but the more 

 fully confirmed in these opinions. 



Dr. Coues, thus far one of the most strenuous advocates of the validity 

 of these nominal species, in a somewhat recent paper of his, X after stating 



* Proceedings of the Essex Institute, Vol. IV, p. r>G. 

 tnoirs of the Bost. Soc. Nat. l!i-t., Vol. I, p. 507. 

 J "A List of the Buds of New England," Proceedings Essex Institute, Vol. V, p. 267, 

 1868. 



