22 REVIEW OF AMERICAN BIRDS. [PART I. 



ington than sivainsonii itself. It certainly is much more common 

 now than formerly, as none of the older collections embrace it among 

 their species, while it is frequently met with at the present time. 



As originally described, it diifers from swainsonii in larger size, 

 longer bill, feet, and wings especially, straighter and narrower bill. 

 The back is of a greener olive. The breast and sides of the head 

 are entirely destitute of the buff tinge, or at best this is very faintly 

 indicated on the upper part of the breast. The most characteristic 

 features are seen on the side of the head. Here there is no indica- 

 tion whatever of the light line from nostril to eye, and scarcely 

 any of a light ring round the eye — the whole region being grayish- 

 olive, relieved slightly by whitish shaft-streaks on the ear coverts. 

 The sides of body, axillars, and tibiae are olivaceous gray, without 

 any of the fulvous tinge seen in swainsonii. The bill measures .40, 

 from tip to nostril sometimes more; tarsi, 1.21; wing, 4.20; tail, 

 3.10 — total, about 1.50. Some specimens slightly exceed these 

 dimensions ; few, if any, fall short of them. 



At the time that this species was described, in 1858, the only 

 known localities were Illinois and the line of the Missouri River 

 along the mouths of the Vermilion and the James Rivers. Since 

 that time its distribution has been found to be much more extensive. 

 Although not yet found west of the Missouri, nor on it above Fort 

 Union, it is abundant along the Lower Mackenzie, and especially 

 about Fort Anderson, on Anderson Rivei*. It is rare on the Youkon, 

 as well as on Slave Lake, except perhaps at the western extremity. 

 Mr. Coues found it abundant in Labrador. It is now particularly 

 common in the spring about Washington, and a few specimens have 

 been obtained about Philadelphia.* South of this it has not been 

 noticed with the single exception of the specimen recorded below. 

 Dr. Bryant, however, thinks he has seen it in Dr. Gundlach's Cuban 

 collection. 



In a word, its distribution in North America, as at present known, 

 is from the Missouri River and the Mackenzie on the west, to Wash- 



' Mr. J. A. Allen, in a paper on the Birds of Springfield, Mass. (Pr. Essex 

 Institute, IV, 1864, 5(j), speaks of Tardus alicise as abundant about Springfield, 

 and as grading so insensibly into the T. swainsonii, as not to be entitled to 

 consideration as even a strongly marked variety. I am inclined, however, to 

 think, from the nature of his remarks and comparisons, that he has not seen 

 what I call T. aliciae. 



During the many years I collected birds about Carlisle, and in the course 

 of which I killed large numbers of T. sioainsnnii, I never saw an alicia?, although 

 I observed the same variations in shade and color of the former referred to by 

 Mr. Allen. 



