22 REVIEW OF AMERICAN BIRDS. [PART I. 
ington than swainsonii itself. It certainly is much more common 
now than formerly, as none of the older collections embrace it among 
their species, while it is frequently met with at the present time. 
As originally described, it differs from swainsonii in larger size, 
longer bill, feet, and wings especially, straighter and narrower bill. 
The back is of a greener olive. The breast and sides of the head 
are entirely destitute of the buff tinge, or at best this is very faintly 
indicated on the upper part of the breast. The most characteristic 
features are seen on the side of the head. Here there is no indica- 
tion whatever of the light line from nostril to eye, and scarcely 
any of a light ring round the eye—the whole region being grayish- 
olive, relieved slightly by whitish shaft-streaks on the ear coverts. 
The sides of body, axillars, and tibise are olivaceous gray, without 
any of the fulvous tinge seen in swainsonii. The bill measures .40, 
from tip to nostril sometimes more ; tarsi, 1.21; wing, 4.205 tail, 
3.10—total, about 7.50. Some specimens slightly exceed these 
dimensions ; few, if any, fall short of them. 
At the time that this species was described, in 1858, the only 
known localities were Illinois and the line of the Missouri River 
along the mouths of the Vermilion and the James Rivers. Since 
that time its distribution has been found to be much more extensive. 
Although not yet found west of the Missouri, nor on it above Fort 
Union, it is abundant: along the Lower Mackenzie, and especially 
about Fort Anderson, on Anderson River. It is rare on the Youkon, 
as well as on Slave Lake, except perhaps at the western extremity. 
Mr. Coues found. it abundant in Labrador. It is now particularly 
common in the spring about Washington, and a few specimens have 
been obtained about Philadelphia.t South of this it has not been 
noticed with the single exception of the specimen recorded below. 
Dr. Bryant, however, thinks he has seen it in Dr. Gundlach’s Cuban 
collection. 
Tn a word, its distribution in North America, as at present known, 
is from the Missouri River and the Mackenzie on the west, to Wash- 
1 Mr. J. A. Allen, in a paper on the Birds of Springfield, Mass. (Pr. Essex 
Institute, IV, 1864, 56), speaks of Turdus aliciz as abundant about Springfield, 
and as grading so insensibly into the 7. swainsonii, as not to be entitled to 
consideration as even a strongly marked variety. Iam inclined, however, to 
think, from the nature of his remarks and comparisons, that he has not seen 
what I call 7. aliciz. 
During the many years I collected birds about Carlisle, and in the course 
of which I killed large numbers of 7. swainsonii, I never saw an alicia, although 
I observed the same variations in shade and color of the former referred to by 
Mr. Allen. 
