44 



ORNITHOLOGIST 



[Vol. 16-No. 3 



Ictinia Mississippiensis. 



Editor of 0. <t- 0. .■ 



The specimen of Ictinia recorded in the 

 O. & O. for March, 1890, as Ictinia ■pliiiiihca, 

 which you kindly sent us for examination, 

 proves to be Ictinia mississippiemtis. In cor- 

 recting tlie record you may desire to Icnow tlie 

 reason for tliis change in identification. 



In the young of I. missis-sippii-nsis the tail 

 has three and sometimes four white bars (the 

 basal one being concealed and generally 

 broken) which remain after the streaked first 

 plumage has l>cen lost, and both the heail 

 and secondaries are darker than in the adult- 

 In this plumage, with which your specimen 

 agrees, the bird very closely resembles the 

 adult of I. plumbea, but may be distinguished 

 from it by the absence of rufous on the inner 

 margin of the (iiiills. 



Mr. Sennett's collection contains specimens 

 of /. niiasissippienses from Texas and Mexico 

 similar to yours, and Mr. liidgway has sent 

 us a Central American example which also 

 agrees with it. All these birds have white bars 

 on the tail but lack the rufous on the quills, 

 a character which we do not find wanting in one 

 of a series of some thirty I. plwnhea, repre- 

 senting all ages. Frank M. Chapman. 



Am. Mu^. Sat. Hist., N. Y. City, Feb. lOtli, 18'.n. 



In making a close examination of Ictinia 

 (plinnhca f) mississijipiensis, noted in O. & O., 

 Vol. XV, page Z5, by John C. Cahoon, an<l 

 which, as maybe seen by accompanying letter, 

 Mr. F. M. Chapman declares to be an imma- 

 ture missinsippiensi.i, I have discovered that 

 it is in a transition plumage, if Mr. Chapman 

 is correct, not heretofore described. In II. II. 

 <t- R. Vol. Ill, a description of " immature male 

 transition plumage" is given as "similar to 

 tlic adult female but the white spots on basal 

 portion of pectoral and crissal feather dis- 

 tinctly exposed; secondaries not lighter than 

 tlie rest of the wing." 



In the bird before me 1 find no white spots 

 on either basal or crissal feathers and also 

 find in each wing two entirely ash colored 

 secondaries, otherwise the plumage corre- 

 sponds rather closely to the description as given 

 in B. B. & R. An expl.anation of this pe- 

 culiar and never before described vaiiation of 

 plumage may be advanced, that, as in many 

 birds, but a partial change of plumage takes 

 place in the moulting season imnn diatcly pre- 

 ceding the putting on of the adult form. This 

 may be accounted for as being very, if not en- 



tirely, similar. The first moult is made of 

 that portion of plumage not recpnred in fiight, 

 as the body, anil a more gradual moult is made 

 of wings and tail, so that two distinct periods 

 are required before a fidl adult plumage is 

 assumed. Many of the Limicolw bear witness 

 to this fact, and it appears to be a provision 

 of nature that it should be so. Breeding 

 in the North in the short season of sum- 

 mer, were they to moult in full the first season 

 they would be unable to wing their way south- 

 ward before the .\rctic winter would over- 

 take them, consequently there is the first 

 body moult in late summer, and in follow- 

 ing spring the second one of the flight feathers, 

 wings and tail. Many close observers are of 

 opini(ni that three changes of plumage ai'e 

 made before full and complete adult dress is 

 put on. So that in the specimen we have before 

 us the transition was taking place and was on 

 that line, medial, between the second and last, 

 or final moult. This appears to be the case, 

 from the fact that the two ashy secondaries 

 appear to be of later growth than the others, 

 and the fact that the pectoral and crissal 

 feathers have been changed to the adult 

 coloration. 



It was quite natural that Mr. Cahoon sIk mid 

 have taken the bird to be plnmlica or a wvw 

 species, as we can find no descriiition hereto- 

 fore published that would have duterniine<l it 

 to be mixsixsippicnuix, excei>t possibly this one 

 ijuoted, but there is a material variance even 

 in this. The absence of rufous on primaries 

 might have been explained possibly. Leading 

 up to the belief it was plumiiea I think this 

 stage of transition of plumage should be noted. 



II'/H. II'. rn.s'Wc. 



Ictinia missixfiippicnsifs. Transition plumage. 

 Similar to adult female. Upper parts blnckisli- 

 slate, neck and head slate-gray; tlie transition 

 to the dark upper jiarts moi'e abrupt across the 

 inter.s('apulars, the lesser wing coverts l)lulsh- 

 black. Inner webs of secondaries brownish, 

 (no riifona). A stripe of white on the inner 

 web at base of first and second primaries dark- 

 ening on the others. Shafts of primaries 

 underneath white growing brownish, towards 

 tips decidedly brown. Inner web of first and 

 second primaries with white stripe extending 

 on the first one-half in length, on the .second 

 one-third. Upper surface of tail black, crossed 

 by four bands of white on the inner web, one 

 concealed by crissal feathers and tail coverts; 

 under surface grayish, with shaft of feather 

 white half their length; rest i>f phiiiiage phim- 



