282 General Notes. [April 



A Partial Albino Hermit Thrush {Turdiis aonala^ckkcE fallasii').— ! 

 have a male of this species taken in this vicinity October 27, 1S85, which 

 has the top of the head and the back light gray. Below white, the spots 

 on the breast being fairly distinct. Tail and the primaries and second- 

 aries fawn color. — Jno. H. Sage, Portland, Conn. 



On two Abnormally Colored Specimens of the Bluebird {Siah'a stall's). 

 — The United States National Museum has, through the generosity of their 

 respective collectors, come into possession of two adult males of the com- 

 mon Bluebird which difter so much from the normal plumage of that spe- 

 cies as to be worthy of special description. 



No. 91,303, $ ad., collected at Escanaba, Mich.. June 6, 18S3, by Mr. 

 Wm. Palmer, Washington, D. C, has the color of the upper parts agreeing 

 exactly with that of more richly colored examples in the normal plumage 

 (precisely as in No. 63,366, from Massachusetts, for example *), tlie tint 

 approaching very nearly to a pure ultramarine. The coloration of the an- 

 terior underparts, however, is quite abnormal, all of the cinnamon-colored 

 feathers of the breast, etc., being blue beneath the surface, the feathers of 

 the sides of the breast being chiefly or entirely blue, the latter color largely 

 prevailing, the uniform cinnamon being confined to the middle of the 

 breast and lower central portion of the throat. The posterior lower parts 

 are white, however, as in true sial/s, and not bluish, as in jnexicaua, and 

 the bill is stout as in si'alis, the measurements being quite normal. f 



No. 107,218, collected in Baltimore Co., Maryland, March 31, 18S5, by 

 Mr. A. H. Jennings, of Baltimore, is abnormal onlj' in the color of the 

 upper parts, which are of a very rich uniform azure blue, almost precisely 

 the same shade as in 5. arctlca, but even rather more greenish than in 

 many examples of the latter species. Viewed in a particular light, many 

 of the feathers, especially the rectrices and larger scapulars, show very reg- 

 ular and rather distinct darker bars, or 'water marks.' The shade of blue 

 is quite identical with that of the 5. azurea, the color being rather richer; 

 but it is a notable fact that the cinnamon-color of the breast, etc., is as in- 

 tense as in any specimen of normal 5. stalls, and not of that pale ochrey 

 tint always characteristic of azurea. Th(? measurements of this specimen 

 are as follows : Wing, 3.95; tail, 2.70: culmen. .65 ; tarsus, .So. 



In order to show how little variation there is in this species accoi'ding to 

 locality, I present herewith measurements of several Florida specimens 

 (three of them breeding birds) and examples from extreme northern local- 

 ities. As to color, it may be remarked that none of the Florida exam- 



* Many examples of 5. mexicaiia are not appreciably different in shade of blue from 

 the richer colored specimens of t,. sialis. 



t [There is, and has been for many years, a specimen of Sialia sialis (No. 9105, ^, 

 Newtonville, Mass., March 10, 1868,) in the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Cam- 

 bridge, which agrees very closely with the specimen here described by Mr. Ridgway, 

 the whole throat being blue, and all the cinnamon-colored feathers of the breast 

 blue beneath the surface, the blue showing prominently on the slightest disarrange- 

 ment of the feathers.— J. A. ALLEN.] 



