ON THE AFFINITIES OF APHRIZA VIRGATA. 
[Based upon a comparative study of its skeleton. | 
R. W SHUFELDT, M.D., C.M.Z.S. 
DurinG the latter part of November, 1885, Surgeon Thomas 
H. Streets of the United States Navy, then naturalist of the 
United States Exploring Steamer “ Patterson,” kindly sent me 
a skeleton of the Surf-bird, the subject of the present memoir; 
and again in August, 1886, the same distinguished officer for- 
warded me a fine pair of skeletons of this species, represent- 
ing both sexes, adult. All of this material was collected by 
Dr. Streets in Alaska, and I am indebted to him also for skele- 
tons of Charadrius squatarola and Arenaria melanocephala, the 
former taken in San Francisco Bay, the latter at Port Townsend, 
Washington Territory, and placed at my disposal for comparison 
with the skeletons of Aphriza. 
As additional material for the osteological comparisons the 
writer here proposes to make, I find I have at my command two 
skeletons of adult specimens of Hematopus bachmani (Nos. 
13,636 and 13,637), belonging to the Smithsonian Institution of 
Washington; and finally, in my own cabinet several skeletal 
preparations of the Charadritde and Tringee, all of which will 
be of assistance in the work now in hand. 
Aphriza virgata constitutes but another one of those forms 
around which centres so much that is of interest to the sys- 
tematic ornithologist, owing to the fact that even after more 
than a mere superficial examination we discover not a little in 
its anatomy that is inclined to puzzle one, when called upon to 
pronounce as to its kinship with more or less nearly related 
groups or types, 
Of the first skin that he ever examined, Audubon wrote: 
“The remarkable bird here represented, which in form and 
size bears a considerable resemblance to the Knot [Zvinga ca- 
nutus|, was procured by Mr. Townsend on the shore of Cape 
