Red-backed Junco 381 



This form combines the dark, sooty back oiJ.hyemalis with the lower- 

 parts of J. shtiieldti, the flanks being sHghtly tinged with pink, and 

 sometimes ashy as well. It is far from uncommon near Colorado 

 Springs dviring spring, and is represented in the Aiken collection by 

 a good series obtained in March and April. 



Junco montanus — J . shufeldti x J. mearnsi. 

 Junco montanus, Ridgway, Auk, XV., p. 321 (1898). 



In this form the head and chest are dark slate instead of black as 

 in typical J. shufeldti, or pale grey-slate as in J. mearnsi, while the pink 

 on the flanks is usually more developed than in J. shufeldti and less than 

 in J. mearnsi. As the breeding range of this form is more or less inter- 

 mediate between that of the more northern J. shufeldti and the more 

 southern J. mearnsi, it is perhaps most logical to consider it as an 

 intergrade rather than as a hybrid. There is a considerable series 

 of this form in the Aiken collection, collected chiefly in the months 

 of March and April when it is a common constituent of Junco flocks. 



Junco annectens = J. caniceps x J, m,earnsi. 

 Junco annectens Baird, in Cooper's Om. Cal., p. 564 (1870). 



This form combines the chestnut back-patch of J. caniceps with the 

 pink flanks of J. mearnsi. An example was obtained by McGregor 

 ("Auk, X.," 1893, p. 205) near Boulder, on November 25th, 1892, in a 

 mixed flock, and was identified as J. ridgwayi, which was subsequently 

 shown to be a synonym of J. annectens. The only example in the Aiken 

 collection is a male from Salt Lake City, taken by Aiken, April 16th, 

 1894. Aiken informs me that this is the prevailing form of Junco 

 in the Utah plains during the migration season, and that it breeds in 

 the Uintah Mountains. 



Genus AMPHISPIZA. 



Medium-sized or small terrestrial. Sparrow-like birds with small, 

 conical bills and moderately long and pointed wings ; the ninth (outer) 

 primary shorter than the fourth, longer than the third ; the eighth 

 and seventh the longest ; primaries exceeding the secondaries by less 

 than the length of the tarsus ; tail slightly shorter than (about -90 of) 

 the wing, and slightly rounded or double rounded. Pliunage plain 

 greyish-brown with or without streaks on the back ; tail blackish 

 with a white or pale-coloured edging on the outer web of the outer 

 feathers, and sometimes a white spot as well. 



