88 U. S P R. R. EXP, AND SURVEYS — ZOOLOGY — GENERAL REPORT. 



along the side of the head to the nape, where those of opposite sides are confluent, (sometimes 

 interrupted.) In the male there is a scarlet band on the nape about four-tenths of an inch long, 

 formed by tips of this color to the feathers composing the white band. A light stripe starts from 

 the commissure under the eye, and passing downwards, inclines and curves round towards the 

 back of the neck, where, however, those of opposite sides are separated by an interval half the 

 width of the head. A black stripe is encircled between these two white ones, confluent with 

 the black of the nape, and another passes back from the lower mandible along the sides of the 

 throat and neck, diverging below and confluent with black on the upper part of the back. The 

 under parts are smoky brown, with perhaps a lilac tinge. A few feathers on the side of the 

 breast anteriorly are streaked with black, as also are the central lines of a few feathers on the 

 flanks. There are but few spots visible on the wings, these being only seen on the exposed 

 webs of the primary and secondary feathers. The first spurious feather is unspotted ; the 

 second has one spot at the base of the outer web, not exposed, and two on the inner ; the third 

 has three external and three or four internal ; the fourth and fifth four external ; the seconda- 

 ries have about three external. In all the primaries the terminal half of the inner web is 

 unspotted. The three external tail feathers are mostly white, the first entirely so, except at 

 the extreme base ; the second black on the basal half; the third with the inner web black, with 

 a terminal spot, and the tip whitish. 



In the specimens before me there are apparently two series, one larger, with the white parts 

 throughout tinged with smoke brown ; the flanks faintly streaked wit^i black ; the white spots 

 on the wings a little smaller. This is most abundant in Washington and Oregon Territories, 

 and is the typical P. Jiarrisii. The other has the white quite pure, the spots on the wing 

 larger, the streaks on the feathers less distinct. These are most abundant in southern Cali- 

 fornia and in New Mexico. The specimens before me, however, exhibit every gradation 

 between the two, and I can find no characters to distinguish the species. The color of the 

 white, too, may have something to do with the character of the trees inhabited. 



The smallest specimens I have seen are from Fort Thorn, New Mexico. In some specimens 

 the nuchal white and red are more decidedly confluent than in others. 



This species represents the P. villosus in the west, and closely resembles it. It may, however, 

 be readily distinguished by the much greater predominance of black above. Thus it is only 

 occasionally that a greater wing covert is s])otted, instead of having a white spot on every one. 

 The tertiaries, too, are unspotted, and the longest primaries have only four spots externally 

 instead of six. There is less white on the third tail feather. Both have the same tendency to 

 obsolete streaks on the sides of the belly ; and the markings about the head appear precisely 

 the same. 



The young of this species exhibit the same differences from the adult as described under P. 

 villosus. The feathers of the crown almost to the bp.se of the bill, apparently in both sexes, are 

 tipped with scarlet, with a white spot at the base of the red. In this stage of plumage the bird 

 might readily be mistaken for a different species, as has been the case witli corresponding stages 

 of P. villosus. 



