Vol. XXX VI 



- 19^8 XV ] Oberholser, Notes on N. A. Birds. IV. 63 



Creciscus coturniculus (Ridgway). 



Mr. William Brewster has, from a systematic point of view, 

 so fully and satisfactorily treated the Farallon Rail ' that further 

 remarks on the subject would now be unnecessary, were it not for 

 the fact that most current authors consider it a species distinct 

 from Creciscus jamaicensis, although both Mr. Ridgway and Mr. 

 Brewster call it a subspecies. It differs, as explained by Mr. 

 Brewster, from Creciscus jamaicensis jamaicensis in shorter, slen- 

 derer bill, darker lower parts, and more extended cervical chestnut 

 area. None of these characters, however, holds constant in an 

 extended series of specimens; for which reason it is perfectly evi- 

 dent that, although the Pacific Coast form is geographically far 

 separated from the breeding area of the race of Creciscus jamaicen- 

 sis inhabiting the eastern United States, we have here a case of 

 subspecific relationship indicated by individual variation. The 

 type of Creciscus coturniculus 2 is, as Mr. Brewster says, a speci- 

 men of the breeding Black Rail of California, not of either of the 

 two Galapagos Islands species, Creciscus spilonotus (Gould) or 

 Creciscus sharper Rothschild and Hartert. Our California bird, 

 therefore, must be called Creciscus jamaicensis coturniculus (Ridg- 

 way). 



Pisobia maculata (Vieillot). 



The Tringa maculata of Vieillot 3 was some time ago stated by 

 Mr. G. M. Mathews 4 to be preoccupied by "Tringa maculata 

 Linnaeus" 5 ; and for the species now called Pisobia maculata the 

 name Tringa pectoralis Say was resurrected. Since further atten- 

 tion has been recently drawn to this matter by Mr. T. Iredale, 6 

 it seems worth while to point out that there is no Tringa maculata 

 Linmeus 7 , but that in the place cited there occurs only Tringa 



> The Auk." XXIV. April, 1907, pp. 205-210. 



2 Porzana jamaicensis var. coturniculus Ridgway, Amer. Nat., VIII, February, 1874, p. 

 Ill l Farallon Islands, California). 



Jouv. Diet. d'Hist. Nat., XXXIV. 1819, p. 465. 

 4 Birds Australia, III. pari, 3, August 18, 1913, p. 261. 

 *Syst. Nat.,ed. 12, I. 1766, p. 249. 

 s Ibis. ser. 10, III, No. 2, April, 1915, p 

 i Syst. Nat., ed. 12, I. 1766, p. 249. 



