274 



Dwight, The Sharp-tailed Sparrows. 



TAu 

 L Oc 



the former and the bright colors of the latter, being a pale grayish 

 looking bird, and the edgings of the back feathers are ashy or 

 pearl-gray, according to season, instead of pure white, as in nelsoni. 

 The accompanying plate is intended to show these differences, and 

 on it are figured the type of subvirgatus (No. 1261 $ adult, Hills- 

 borough, New Brunswick, July 19, 1886, J. Dwight, Jr.), and a 

 breeding male nelsoni taken by Dr. Louis B. Bishop in Towner 

 Co., North Dakota, July 5, 1895 (L. B. B. No. 2071). It seems 

 preferable to thus compare two breeding males rather than figure 

 the type of nelsoni which, taken in the autumn, is very possibly a 

 migrant. The coloring is most excellent save in the tarsus and 

 foot of nelsoni, which should be of a purplish flesh color. The 

 bills do not show the differences in size that usually are obvious. 



In order to bring out as definitely as possible the points of 

 difference (appreciable at any season in all birds, save those in 

 first plumage) between these allied races I will present them in 

 parallel columns : 



Typical birds are easily recognized when birds of like season 

 are compared, but difficulties arise in determining certain fall 

 migrants or winter birds (of which there are a large number in 

 collections) that show intergradation between nelsoni and subvir- 

 gatus. They are taken on the Atlantic coast at various points 



