THE 



QUARTERLY JOURNAL 



OF THE 



BOSTON ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 

 Vol. II. July, 1883. No. 3. 



NOTES ON COLAPTES AURATU8, CONTAINING 

 SOME THEORIES REGARDING VARIATION IN 

 PLUMAGE. 



By C. J. Maynard. 



I have throughout the present month (April 1883) been 

 receiving a considerable number of Golden-winged Wood- 

 peckers in the flesh from my collectors at Ann Arbor, 

 Michigan, and that vicinity. Almost all the specimens 

 which have come have been extremely pale; not only is 

 the yellow of the wings and the ground color generally 

 very light in color, but the dark markings above and below 

 are very indistinct. This is the condition of the majority 

 of the specimens, but occasionally I find one that will be 

 as dark as the normal eastern plumage. Among these 

 dark birds I was surprised to find a female with a clearly 

 defined maxillary patch of red, small to be sure but still 

 clearly marked. Another quite pale female has a partly 

 defined maxillary patch q^ black, caused by black patches 

 on the central ray of the maxillary feathers. Again a 

 male, dark in color, has the feathers of the black maxillary 

 patch tipped with red. Now I have seen all these stages 

 of plumage, except the first named, among eastern speci- 



