1058 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 23 7 part 2 



food consisting of insects. Large insects had the wings and legs 

 carefully removed by the parents before being given to the young. 



Plumages. — A composite description of the three races discussed 

 in this account is as follows: The head and breast including the chin 

 and nape are collectively called a hood; the margin of the hood is 

 convex posteriorly. The hood is somewhat darker on the top and 

 sides of the head and is sharply defined from the back and side 

 plumage. Depending upon the race, the hood may be deep to dark 

 neutral gray, sooty gray, and black in some birds. Females average 

 lighter in hood color than males, but this is a relative and not an 

 absolute comparison. The back and scapulars are confluent and are 

 a shade of brown, grayer or brighter depending on the race. Sides 

 may be yellowish, buff, or light ruddy brown; the belly is white. 

 The outer three pahs of tail feathers are white, varying slightly in 

 amount in the thi*ee races. In all races the feet are red-brown, the 

 bill flesh color, and the iris some shade of broA\Ti. 



According to A. H. Miller (1941b) the race montanus averages 

 larger than shufeldti and about 80 percent can be separated by 

 measm-ement. Also, about 80 percent of the races shufeldti and 

 thurheri can be separated by theh back color; in fresh plumage shufeldti 

 is bister, contrasting with Verona in thurheri. At best, however, the 

 races are difficult to separate in the field, and the literature and 

 observations of the many workers over the years are thoroughly 

 intermingled. 



No descriptions of the juvenal plumages of the races montanus, 

 shufeldti, or thurheri are available. An unpublished thesis by Richard 

 R. Graber describing the juvenal plmnages of oreganus and mearnsi 

 is quoted in the respective accounts of those races. Oregon juncos 

 do not keep the juvenal plumage for any length of time. I rather 

 suppose that all races are like the race mearnsi. Young of this 

 race that I saw in the Centennial Mountains of the Idaho- 

 Montana border country (Clark Coimty, Idaho) were already begin- 

 ning to get their dark hoods in early August 1960, although their 

 bodies were still streaked. 



Gordon W. Gullion wTote to Mr. Bent: "Members of the Oregon 

 junco species breed abundantly in the Yakima Park area in the 

 northeastern part of Mount Rainier National Park in Washington 

 state. While conducting banding operations in that area durmg the 

 summer of 1947 I had the opportunity to trap a larger number of 

 juvenal birds, often still retammg some of their natal do^vn. Since 

 these juncos remain in the area imtil late fall, it was possible to obtain 

 three records on the time required for attaining adidt plumage. 



"One streaked unmature bhd banded (47-64082) on July 24 had 

 the full adult male plumage 37 days later on August 30. Another 



