66 TowNSEND, Status of Brewster's Warbler. {.fan 



his collection, No. 48753, a female taken at West Point, N. Y., 

 on May 26, 1901. This bird shows a clear white throat, a suspicion 

 of a black line before and behind the eye, and faint grayish cheek 

 patches. The wing patch is partially divided into two and yellow 

 in color. 



No. 3. A specimen kindly lent by Dr. J. A. Allen from the 

 American Museum of Natural History, where I had noticed it in 

 looking over the collection. This is a female. No. 54385, from 

 Greenville County, South Carolina, with the plumage of a typical 

 female Golden-winged Warbler, except that the left half of the 

 throat is pure white. The right-half, the border line of which is 

 clean cut and in the raid-line, is dark gray. The lower part of the 

 throat on both sides is also gray, so that there is a right angle tri- 

 angle in the throat that is white instead of dark gray. The cheek 

 and wing patches are as in the normal female Golden-winged 

 Warbler. 



The first of these specimens might be dismissed as a much worn 

 and faded female Golden- winged Warbler, except that the yellow 

 breast feathers suggest Blue-winged blood, and the third as a case 

 of partial albinism in an otherwise normal Golden-winged Warbler, 

 but the second could not be so summarily disposed of. It is plainly 

 a Brewster's Warbler, but the grayish ear patches are significant 

 of Golden-winged blood. Taking all three specimens together it 

 seems to me logical to conclude that we have here indications of 

 links between the Golden-winged and Brewster's Warblers, a 

 conclusion directly opposed to that of Dr. Bishop who found 

 relationship between Brewster's and the Blue-winged Warblers 

 only. If we had these specimens only, and pure white-throated 

 Brewster's Warblers, we might conclude that the latter Warbler 

 was merely a phase of the Golden-winged, but, as Bishop has 

 shown, there are all degrees from a slight tinge of yellow on the 

 breast of these otherwise white-throated specimens up to the com- 

 plete yellow-throated Blue-winged Warbler. 



Two explanations of the status of Brewster's Warbler would 

 seem possible, both of which are worth discussion: 



(1) That Brewster's Warbler is a hybrid between the Golden- 

 winged and the Blue- winged Warblers. 



(2) That Brewster's Warbler is a phase of the Golden-Winged 



