THE BREWSTER WARBLER. 



123 



No. 53. M. 



BREWSTER WARBLER. 



A. O. U. No. H. 21. Helminthophila leucobronchialis (Brewst). 



Description. — Adult male: More or less like H. pinus (i. e. forehead and 

 forecrown pure yellow, a black line through eye, etc.), but upper parts bluish 

 gray (instead of olive-green); the wing-bars yellow; under parts pure white, 

 tinged on breast only with yellow and on sides with ashy gray. In the fall more 

 heavily washed with yellow below, and margined with olive-green above. Adult 

 female : Like the male, but yellow of crown not so bright ; wing-bars usually 

 white. 



The status of this bird is not yet fully determined. It may be a color phase 

 of H. pinus or a hybrid between H. pinus and //. chrysoptera or possibly a nascent 

 species. Certain it is that its affinities are strongly with H. pinus. Upon this 

 point Ridgway's note is at least suggestive and perhaps solvent, "This puzzling 

 bird apparently bears the same relation to H. pinus that //. lawrencei does to 

 H. chrysoptera. In a large series of specimens every possible intermediate con- 

 dition of plumage between typical H. pinus and //. leucobronchialis is seen, just 

 as is the case with H. chrysoptera and //. lawrencei. If we assume therefore that 

 these four forms represent merely two dichroic species, in one of which (H. pinus) 



