236 DwiGHT 011 a Nexv Race of Sharp-tailed Sparrow. [ July 



the smallest bill of caudacutus. the bills of the three forms 

 intergrade, and it is the short-billed specimens of the new form 

 that are likely to give the most trouble. I notice that nearly all 

 nelsoni have lighter colored bills (especially the lower mandible, 

 which is buff) than the majority of specimens of the new race, 

 which generally has both mandibles slaty, but I fear no depen- 

 dence can be placed upon this fact. 



A series of Sharp-tails obtained in the autumn at Sing Sing. 

 N. Y., by Dr. Fisher, is of special interest. From typical nel- 

 soni, as rich in color as those obtained in Illinois, these birds 

 show a gradual and complete gradation into subvirgatus, the 

 brown of the head and back, and deep buff of the jugulum be- 

 coming paler, the white edging of the dorsal feathers passing 

 into gray, and the streaking of the jugulum fading into gray, 

 until the imaginary line dividing all subspecies has been passed 

 and the characters of subvirgatus are seen to predominate. 



It is to be regretted that the specimens from which I have 

 selected my spring types are in worn and faded plumage, but 

 comparing them with four specimens taken respectively at Point 

 Judith. R. I., April 29, N. Madison, Conn., June 9, Cambridge, 

 Mass., May 31, and Hampton, N. B., June 21, and with two 

 labelled New Jersey, I find them almost identical in coloring and 

 amount ot wear. I notice that my summer males are generally 

 paler above and less bully beneath than the females, although a 

 few of the latter are paler than the brightest males. Can it be 

 that the males expose themselves mure to the sun for the sake of 

 singing to their mates, who assume the household cares of a 

 shady nest amid the long grass? 



The X. Madison and the Cambridge specimens just referred 

 to have the shortest bills (only 8.1 mm.) of any subvirgatus in 

 the series at hand, and the latter has been recorded as nelsoni. 

 (Henshaw, Auk, III, 1886, 4S6.) It is labeled "$ juv.," 

 which may, perhaps, account for the short bill, and the buff 

 beneath is brighter than the average of the new race, but the 

 pale coloring of the upper parts is identical with my New 

 Brunswick birds. The N. Madison specimen, an adult female, 

 is undoubtedly of the new race and a trifle paler than the Cam- 

 bridge bird. These two, taken in connection with othei short- 

 billed specimens obtained at Cambridge and at Sing Sing in the 

 fall, suggest the inquiry whether some inland marshes may not 



