154 Mr. Elliott Coues on the History of 



from conflicting views of its systematic position. To our opinion 

 upon this latter point, already expressed, we have only to add 

 that we hold the bird to be sui generis, while conceding its close 

 relationships to neighbouring forms. So far as we know, only 

 two nominal species have hitherto been instituted at its expense ; 

 one of these we are obliged to quote on Gray's authority. Since 

 the Prince vonWied's notices, which appeared in German, French, 

 and English, the literature of the subject is mainly represented 

 by Mr. Cassin's valuable article, accompanied by a characteristic 

 figure. Prof. Baird's accurate description, both generic and spe- 

 cific, and the partial biographies of several naturalists who met 

 with the bird alive. For many years the species was considered 

 a rarity, to be highly prized, and may still remain among the 

 desiderata of many or most European collections ; but of late a 

 great many specimens have been gathered, notably in California, 

 by the late Capt. John Feilner, of the Army (in whose death, at 

 the hands of hostile Indians, ornithology lost a zealous and 

 judicious collector), and in Arizona by ourselves. 



The Prince's original examples are stated to have come from 

 one of the tributaries of the Upper Missouri, in the then extensive 

 territory of Nebraska, which locality, if not beyond the bird's 

 ordinary range, is certainly far from its centre of abundance, for 

 which we must turn some degrees south-westward. Dr. Hayden, 

 who explored the same section of country with signal ability and 

 success, does not appear to have met with it ; and we judge, 

 upon several considerations, that Maximilian's quotation may 

 indicate very nearly the north-east extension of the species. 

 This impression of ours is strengthened, if not confirmed, 

 by the fact that the north-eastward dispersion of Picicorvus 

 columhianus has proved nearly coincident ; for, as may be 

 gathered by comparing the present article with one upon Picicor- 

 vus which we had the pleasure of laying before the readers of 

 ' The Ibis,' these two birds occupy essentially the same faunal 

 area in altitude as well as in latitude. General MacCall, then 

 Inspector-General of the Army, found his " Cyanocorax cassini " 

 abundant near Santa Fe, in New Mexico (alt. 7000 ft. ; lat. 35° 

 41' N. ; long. 106° 2' W. Greenw.). Dr. C. B. R. Kennerly, 

 whilst attached to Lieut. Whipple's Survey of the 35th parallel, 



