Todd: The Birds of the Isle of Pines. 207 



in an effort to determine the true status and relationships of the Sand- 

 hill Crane of Cuba and the Isle of Pines. Although known from the 

 latter locality for many years, having been recorded by Poey (on 

 Gundlach's authority) as far back as 1854, specimens have apparently 

 been wanting in collections. In 1904, however, Mr. Zappey was 

 successful in securing two male birds, which were described the fol- 

 lowing year under the name Grtis nesiotes. The smaller size was given 

 as the chief point of difference between the new form and G. mexicana, 

 the differences in color being insignificant. As shown in the foregoing 

 table of measurements, the two birds collected by Mr. Zappey, 

 although in rather worn plumage, average somewhat larger than the 

 three females taken by Mr. Link. Nevertheless, the bird represented 

 by these five skins seems worthy of distinction from G. mexicana of the 

 mainland, being so much smaller that its recognition is easy, but it 

 is a curious fact (and one apparently ignored by the describers) that 

 by this very token it approaches G. canadensis. Even in the small 

 series of these two forms examined the measurements inosculate. But 

 while in general size the two appear to be about the same, the bill in 

 nesiotes seems to average relatively longer. The range of variation 

 in this respect is nevertheless considerable in both forms, so much so 

 that it is very doubtful if they can invariably be discriminated by any 

 fixed differences in size or proportions. The status of G. canadensis 

 has indeed been in the past the subject of considerable dispute, into 

 the history of which it is here unnecessary to go; suffice it to say that 

 current usage, as reflected by the American Ornithologists' Union 

 Check List of North American Birds, accords it specific rank. Author- 

 ities are agreed that G. canadensis and G. mexicana can be distinguished 

 from each other only by size, both species varying greatly in color, 

 this variation affecting mainly the mantle, which is often strongly 

 washed with brown. According to Messrs. Bangs and Zappey this 

 brown wash is characteristic of the breeding-season, at least in the 

 case of G. mexicana. Birds taken in May are quite appreciably 

 browner than those taken in October, although the variation in this 

 respect is not nearly so marked as in the other two forms, and it is of 

 course possible that this difference may prove to be suflficiently con- 

 stant to be used as a diagnostic character. It is of course inconceiv- 

 able that nesiotes is a subspecies of the boreal and western G. cana- 

 densis, its real affinities being rather with G. mexicana, the range of 

 which it approximates. To reduce it to a subspecies of the latter, 



