Vol. XXI 



1904 



I BowDisH. Abnormal Bill of Me/iDierpef /'ortorirom's. C"! 



I am quite satisfied now, that Tringa alpina var. americana 

 Cassin, B. N. Amer., p. 719 (1858), Pelidtia pacifica Coues, Pr. 

 Acad. Nat. Sci. Philad., p. 189 (1861), and the much earlier 

 Scolopax sakhalina Vieillot, N. Diet, d' Hist. Nat., Ill, p. 359 

 (181 6), are only synonyms of Tringa variegata Tilesius, Atlas 

 Krusenstern. Reis., PI. LXXXIV (1814). 



I think that Tilesius's name must be accepted for the Pacific 

 Dunlin, 1 as Tringa variegata of Gmelin (Sys. Nat., I, p. 674, 

 1788) is not a Tringa at all, but (being a synonym of his Tringa 

 virgata, ibid.) a type of quite a distant genus of waders: Aphriza 

 Audubon (1839). But those who consider that Gmelin's Tringa 

 variegata invalidates Tilesius's name must accept Vieillot's name 

 and call the Pacific Dunlin Tringa {Fe/idna) alpina sakhalina 

 (Vieill.). 



I add to this note an accurate photograph (nearly i : 1.4 nat. 

 size) of Tilesius's Plate. 

 1903, Oct. 7, 



Russia, Esthonia, Wesenberg. 



AN ABNORMAL BILL OF MELANERPES 

 FOR TORICENSIS. 



BY B. S. BOWDISH. 



Flate XI. 



On June 27, 1901, I shot a male Melanerpes portoricensis ivom. 

 a tree in a coffee plantation on a hillside near Mayaguez, P. R. 

 The specimen is No. 177842 of the National Museum collection 

 and was loaned to me for the purpose of making illustrations and 

 measurements. 



This bird, which was in company with an apparently quite nor- 



^ And it should stand as Triitga {Pelidim) a/pitta variegata Tilesius, as it is 

 only subspecifically distinct. I must add, that I see no reasons for even sub- 

 generically dividing Dunlins. Knots, Purple and Curlew Sandpipers, etc. 



