NO. 1116. PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM. ' 605 



broad and rounded at ends, not pointed and elongated as in adults; 

 wing-coverts dusky grayish brown, broadly margined and spotted with 

 cinnamon-rufous; remiges as in the adult, but primaries marked Avith 

 a small terminal triangular spot of white, except on three or four outer- 

 most quills. Under parts deep grayish sooty, striped with buft". Bill 

 black, with lower portion of mandible light brownish; naked loral 

 region dusky, with a light-colored broad stripe along ui)per edge; legs 

 and feet brownish black, the soles of the latter light brown. ' 



There are very decided diflerences in the coloration of specimens 

 from the different islands, but without a larger series I am unable to 

 determine the significance or value of these variations. Thus, two 

 adults collected by Dr. William H. Jones, U. S. N., one {^o. 101322, 

 U.S.KM.) on Chatham Island, August 19, 1884, the other (No. 101327, 

 U.S.N.M., adult male) without known locality, but probably from the 

 same island, are decidedly lighter in color than those from James Island 

 (the type locality of B. plumheus). They have the wing-coverts dis- 

 tinctly margined with light tawny ; the general color of the fore neck 

 distinctly brown (light Front's brown) instead of slate-gray, and both 

 have a distinct yellowish or light greenish stripe along the lower edge 

 of the mandible. Their measurements are given in the subjoined table. 



An adult male from Hood Island (Xo. 11C0S8, U.S.N.M, April 7, 1888; 

 C. H. Townsend) is most like the James Island specimen, but has 

 scarcely a trace of brown on the lower fore neck, and has neither white 

 nor black markings along the median line of the fore neck, throat, and 

 chin, which is light gray interrupted occasionally by the general black- 

 ish slate color of the neck. 



An adult male from Abingdon Island (No. 110137, U.S.KM., April 

 10, 1888; 0. II. Townsend) has the whole front part of the neck very 

 light gray, the upper fore neck and the throat with a few dusky flecks. 



Possibly these differences are merely individual variations, but a 

 comparison of several specimens from each island is much to be desired. 



1 The fresh cohn-s of the unfeathered parts in a young female obtained by Mr. 

 Adams (locality not stated) were as follows: 



"Legs yellowish green with some of the large plates on front of the tarsus almost 

 as dark as burnt umber aud the scales on the upper surface of the toes same color; 

 back of tarsus, heel, and soles of feet yellow; eyelids and lores yellow with a tinge 

 of purplish over and beneath the eyes; under part of mandible same greeuish yel- 

 low as legs; iris crimson. Totallength, 21.50." (Adams, MS. J 



