1886.] PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 107 



amples there is a just perceptible shade of greenish on the top of head 

 and middle of hind neck, but the sides are decidedly gray. Not so in 

 the Japanese representative, in which the green color not only ])ervades 

 the sides of head and neck, besides being very much stronger, but also 

 faintly tinges the whitish throat and chin. Swinhoe remarks (1. c.) that 

 the Japanese specimens he examined had small bills. Sucli a distinc- 

 tion seems not to hold, as is apparent from the table of measurements 

 appended. 



That the differences pointed out above are not due to individual vari- 

 ation seems clear from the great uniformity in the specimens from eacli 

 locality. Unfortunately but few of them are dated, but as all of them 

 are in perfect plumage (especially the tails) they can safely be assumed 

 to be practically in corresponding plumage, and the differences cannot 

 be due to season. 



The Gray-headed Woodpeckers inhabiting the intermediate region 

 may be expected to show additional variation of this species, as there 

 is no lack of indications in the literature that some Siberian sjiecimeus 

 are unusually gray, and Dresser speaks of an aberrantly colored speci- 

 men from Southern Russia in Lord Lilford's collection (B. of Eur., v, p. 

 90).* 



I may further remark that the dull colored specimens from iSTorway, 

 alluded to above, are from the rainy west coast. It would, therefore, 

 not invalidate the conclusions here set forth, if it should be found that 

 si)ecimens from eastern and southern Scandinavia agree better with the 

 Central European race. 



It would be very interesting to know, if the Gray-headed Woodpeck- 

 ers in Spain, in the Balkan Peninsula and in Caucasus show any differ- 

 ences from those of Northern and Central Europe. The homes of Pieus 

 sharpii, P. saundersi, and Dryobates Ulfordi may justly be expected to 

 foster recognizable races of P. canus. 



* A specimen from the mainland opposite northern Japan (received after the above 

 had been submitted for publication) is very different from P. jessoensw from the latter 

 country. It is pale-gray-headed, with gray forehead, and altogether the whole plum- 

 age is strongly pervaded with gray, without auy brown admixture, resembling most 

 closely the Norwegian true P. canus, but very much paler and with a decided white 

 superciliary spot. The yellow on the rump is very restricted, being chiefly confined 

 to the upper tail-coverts and of a clear lemon yellow. The type of this form, which 

 I designate as Picas canus j)erpallidus, is a <? , U. S. Nat. Mus. No. 108897. It was col- 

 lected at Sidinij, Ussuri, November 25, 1884, by Mr. I. Kalinowski. The dimensions 

 are as follows: wing, 144™°>; tail-feathers, 96™™; expos, culmeu, 35"^™. 



