SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 85 



Gymnogyps calif ornianus, comes only from the West Coast in modern 

 times, while an eagle, Geranoaetus sp., has a modern form in South 

 America and fossils in the Pleistocene of California. The jabiru, 

 Jabiru mycteria, Mexican turkey vulture, Cathartes aura aura, and 

 wood-rail, Aramides cajanea are species known today from tropical 

 America. 



The 53 forms remaining that are found in modern Florida are listed 

 below. Most of them are common today in the areas under study 

 either as permanent residents or as migrants from the north during 

 winter. 



Colymbus atiritus 

 Podilymbns podiceps 

 Phalacrocorax aiiritus 

 Anhinga aniiinga 

 Ardca herodias 

 Casmerodius albns 

 Egretta thula 

 Hydranassa tricolor 

 Florida caeridca 

 Butorides vircsccns 

 NycHcorax nycticorax 

 Nyctanassa violacca 

 Botaurus lentiginosus 

 Plegadis sp. 

 Guara alba 

 Cygniis columbianns 

 Branta canadensis 

 Branta canadensis hutchinsi 

 Anas platyrhynchos 

 Anos riibripes 

 Anas fulvigida 

 Nettion carolincnse 

 Nyroca valisineria 

 Nyroca affinis 

 Erismatura jarnaiccnsis 

 Lophodylcs cucidlatus 



Cathartes aura septentrionalis 



Coragyps urubu 



Buteo jamaicensis 



Butco lineatus 



Buteo platypterus 



Haliaeetus leucoccphalus 



Pandion haliacius 



Polyborus cherizvay 



Falco sparverius 



Colinus virginianus 



Mcleagris gallopavo 



Grus canadensis (large form) 



Aranins pictus 



Ralliis elegans 



Rallus longirostris 



Gallinula chloropvs 



Fulica americana 



Zenaidura macroura 



Tyto alba 



Otus asio 



Strix varia 



Corviis brachyrhynchos 



Corvtis ossijragus 



Agelaius phocniceus 



Megaquiscalus major 



Ouiscalus quiscula 



Among these species there are 26 that have not before been recorded 

 in the Pleistocene age, a considerable addition to the 114 modern 

 species known previously from deposits of that period. 



The fact that at this writing 140 species of the birds found living 

 today in that area of North America included in the limits of the 

 official Check-list of the American Ornithologists' Union are known 

 as fossils in the Pleistocene illustrates clearly the stability in form of 

 our existing species of birds, since this numl^cr is more than 15 per 

 cent of the total living list (not counting subspecies) for the region 



