632 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 221 



=Pipilo erythrophthalmus megalonyx Baird. See Grinnell, Univ. Cali- 

 fornia Publ. Zool. 38:305, 1932; Sibley, Univ. California Publ. Zool. 

 50: 116-119, 1950. 



10284. Adult male. Fort Tejon, Kern County, California. Entered into 

 the museum register on May 20, 1858. Collected by John Xantus. 



10287. Subadult male. Fort Tejon, Kern County, California. Entered 

 into the museum register on May 20, 1858. Collected by John Xantus. 

 Original number 632. 



10686. Adult (sex not indicated, but apparently female). Fort Tejon, 

 Kern County, California. Entered into the museum register between 

 July 29 and Oct. 25, 1858. Collected by John Xantus. Original number 

 1132? 



10687. Subadult male. Fort Tejon, Kern County, California. Entered 

 into the museum register between July 29 and Oct. 25, 1858. Collected 

 by John Xantus. Original number 1050? 



Baird based his new form upon a long series of skins from diverse local- 

 ities; some of these are now held representative of entirely different races. 

 By his statement tliat "The specimens exhibiting the highest development of 

 claw are from Fort Tejon," the author inferentially restricted the type local- 

 ity to that place, and birds from Fort Tejon alone should be treated as 

 cotypes. 



Baird referred to material collected by Xantus at Fort Tejon, but so 

 cursorily as to indicate that the specimens were newly arrived at the museum 

 and still unnumbered. Examination of the register shows that the potential 

 cotypes are certainly Nos. 10284, 10287, 10288, and 10289, and probably 

 Nos. 10686 and 10687. Nos. 10288 and 10289 have vanished from the col- 

 lection without trace. 



No. 10287 has been generally accepted as the type because of the fact that 

 the word "Type" in Baird's hand appears on the oldest label. Baird in fact 

 wrote "Type of pi. 73," with reference to Baird, Cassin, and Lawrence, 

 Birds of North America, 1860, and No. 10287 might have been selected as 

 the skin that best lent itself to use as the artist's model. Examination of 

 plate 73, however, shows that, in this case, the artist took great liberties 

 with his subject, for the bird depicted has the glossy upper parts of an old 

 adult, while No. 10287 has the brownish-black upper parts of a first-autumn 

 specunen. 



In Baird, Brewer, and Ridgway (History of North American birds, p. 113, 

 1874) , we find No. 10284 used as model for the text-figure showing the en- 

 larged foot (the most important character in Baird's diagnosis of mega- 

 lonyx), again because this specimen doubtless best served the purpose. 



In short, Nos, 10284 and 10287 are certainly equivalent cotypes, and Nos. 

 10686 and 10687 probably have equally valid claims with them to typeship. 



