74 TowNSEND, New Race of Hudsonian Chickadee. 



LJa 



A NEW SUBSPF.CIES OF HUDSONIAN CHICKADEE 

 FROM THE LABRADOR PENINSULA. 



BY CHARLES W. TOWNSEND, M.D. 



Penthestes hudsonicus nigricans, subsp. nov. 



Siibsp. Char. — Midway in size between Penthestes hudsonicus hudsonicus 

 and P. hudsonicus littoralis, bill as short as that of littoralis and as thick as 

 hudsonicus. Darker than.either on back and sides and much less brown. 



Type. — No. 1420, coll. C. W. T. cf ad. Shekatika, head of inlet 

 Saguenay County, Quebec, Canadian Labrador, July 23, 1915; collected 

 by C. W. Townsend.i 



Range. — So far as known, forested region of Labrador Peninsula. 



Description of adult. Sexes alike. Crown, nape and back mouse-gray 

 slightly tinged with hair brown; wings and tail dull slate-color; throat 

 black, car coverts, sides of neck, breast and belly white; sides brownish 

 drab. 



Measurements cT (type) wing 66, tail 64, tarsus 15, bill, culmen, 8.5, 

 depth at base 4.5. 



9 wing 62, tail 62, tarsus 14, bill, culmen, 8, depth at base 5. 



Remarks. The short, stout bill and dark back almost devoid of 

 brown tint as well as the absence of a strong brown tint on the sides 

 make this a well marked subspecies. In its dark sooty tendency it 

 resembles other birds of the forested regions of the Labrador 

 Peninsula such as the Labrador Horned Owl and the Labrador Ja^'. 

 This region abounds in water in the bogs, lakes and rivers and its 

 climate in summer is humid. A number of other birds of this 

 region appear to have a tendency to darkness in plumage, e. g. 

 Red-tailed Hawk, Flicker, Night Hawk and Water-Thrush. 



It is probable that the Hudsonian Chickadees of the treeless or 

 scrub Arctic arid Subarctic area in Ungava Labrador and New- 

 foundland Labrador are P. hudsonicus hudsonicus. Specimens 

 from Lance au Loup taken in May belong to this latter form. 

 The Ungava form described by Rhoads in 1893 (Auk, X, 1893, 

 p. 328) has the brown coloration of hudsonicus. I am greatly 

 indebted to Mr. Outram Bangs for his assistance in preparing this 

 note. 



1 1 have since given the type specimen to the Museum of Comparative Zoology 

 at Cambridge, Mass., and it now bears the number 69431. 



