zf.6 Brewster, A New Warbler and Song Sparrow. [fan 



portions of the bill, but the female of americana is usually yellower 

 beneath than that of usnece and much more rarely shows any 

 distinct traces of blackish on the jugulum. 



It is probable that in the main the breeding range of C. ameri- 

 cana is confined within the low parts of the South where the 

 Spanish moss (Tillandsid) flourishes, and that C. a. usneai is to be 

 found in summer only where the 'Old Man's beard' (tfsnea) 

 grows, but the summer distribution of the northern bird is evi- 

 dently not fully co-extensive with the distribution of its favorite 

 ' moss,' and the southern form passes somewhat beyond the north- 

 ern limits of the Tillandsia region, for it is represented in my 

 series by several apparently typical examples from Washington, 

 D. C, and Mt. Carmel, Illinois. Unfortunately I have seen no 

 summer birds from the regions immediately to the northward of 

 these points, where, it may be assumed, the two forms approach 

 each other more or less closely if they do not actually intermingle. 

 That they sometimes intergrade is shown conclusively by five 

 breeding males taken by Mr. Scott at Wytheville and Mountain 

 Lake. Virginia, in June and July. 1889. In respect to color and 

 markings these birds are about intermediate between americana 

 and usnece, but' their bills are as large as in extreme specimens of 

 the former. I have several other similar specimens collected 

 during the migration in Florida. 



Melospiza fasciata merrilli, new subspecies. Merrill's Song 



Sparrow. 



Subspecific characters. — Similar to Melospiza fasciata guttata but with 

 the bill smaller, the ground color of the upper parts — including the sides 

 of the head and neck — lighter and more ashy, the dark markings (espe- 

 cially those of the back) blacker and more sharply defined, the white of 

 the under parts clearer and more extended. 



Type, $ ad. (No. 46,026, Collection of W. Brewster, collector's No. 947) 

 Fort Sherman, Idaho, March 6, 1895 ; Dr. J. C. Merrill, U. S. A. 



Length, "6.10"; wing, 2.63; tail, 2.58; tarsus, .84; length of culmen 

 from feathers. .44; depth of bill at nostrils, .25. 



In respect to the size and shape of the bill, the length of the 

 tail, the character and definition of the dark markings of the breast, 

 sides and back, and the extent of the white on the under parts, 



