193 



which was distributed, as its habitat was then known, over the entire 

 region between the Alleghany and RocI\.y Mountains, and also the in- 

 terior of British America, besides the eastern portion of the latter 

 country, and soutiiward to Maine. Not a single specimen had then, 

 nor has since, been seen from any part of this vast extent of terri- 

 tory, which approached in characters the form peculiar to the soutli- 

 ern Atlantic states — Q. imrpureus. The latter was at that time sup- 

 posed to extend northward to Nova Scotia; this mistake being 

 brought about by the entire want of specimens from the New England 

 states. Al)undant material since received from all points along the 

 Atlantic coast, however, shows that only Q. ceneus is found from New 

 York City and Long Island northeastward, and that it is onl}' as far 

 north as northern New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania that purpu- 

 reus extends, except as a straggler. Even at Washington, I). C, aniens 

 is by no means rare, but, strange to saj-, when mixed with purpnreAis, 

 still retains its own characteristic."^. In the parks of that city I have 

 seen pairs of both species walking tamely about ou the grass, hut 

 mver saw the two forms paired together, and could even distinguish the 

 two by their different appearance and actions before I was near 

 enough to distinguish by coloration. The pi'oportionate numbers of 

 the two at Washington are about one pair of cenoAis to fifty or seventv- 

 five pairs of purpuretis. Nearer the coast, and especially farther south- 

 ward, east of the Alleghanies, the former disappears altogether. My 

 present view is, that cciieus, purj^ureiis and aglceus, arc three climatic, 

 or geographical races, of one species; at least they are descended 

 from one primitive stock ; purpiireiis is intermediate between the two 

 opposite extremes or most widely difl'orentiated forms, ceneus and 

 aglmus, but more so in habitat than in characters, for while purpurens 

 passes by a gradual transition into aglceus through specimens from 

 northern Florida, oineus is almost abruptly separated, and, even when 

 associated geographically, preserves its own distinctive characters 

 with such unusual uniformity that it is a question whether it is not 

 already ditlVrcntiated i)eyond the "varietal stage." 



123. PERISOREUS CANADENSIS, var. CAPITALIS Baird. 



Cn. (61,084. Henrj^'s Fork, Wyoming Ter. ; F. V. Hayden.) Above 

 flue light bluish plumbeous, becoming much lighter on the anterior 

 portion of the back; tertials, secondaries, wing-coverts, primaries 

 and tail feathers passing into whitish terminally, forming on the hitter 

 quite broad and distinct tips. A nuchal jiatch of a tint slightly darker 

 than the back, and separated from the latter by the hoary whitish of 

 the anterior dorsal region. Whole of the head, except the nuchal 

 patch, with the anterior lower parts, as far as the breast, pure white- 

 rest of the lower parts ashy-white, becoming gradually more ashy 



