VOl l906^ ni ] Gbuuvtell, Status of the "San Francisco Titmouse." 187 



later, a much quicker decision than is usually accorded western 

 novelties! The matter has since rested, apparently for the reason 

 that no one has had the inclination or opportunity for verifying 

 the validity of the race. 



In 1845, Gambel described 1 his Paras inornatus from "Upper 

 California," and two years later announced 2 that Monterey was 

 the place of discovery. 



The neighborhood of Monterey was thus established as the type 

 locality of Bceolophus inornatus inornatus. Monterey is in the 

 southern portion of what I have elsewhere called the Santa Cruz 

 "District" or Fauna! Area. Many humid coast races find in Mon- 

 terey County the southern limit of their distribution; to the north- 

 ward their range spreads interiorly to include the "San Francisco 

 Bay Region," excepting the salt marshes. Such races are Toxo- 

 stoma redivivum redivivum, Thryomanes bewicki spilurus, and 

 Chamcca fasdata intermedia. Excluding the Song Sparrows and 

 Yellow-throats, which are differentiated into local races by the 

 fresh water and salt marsh sets of influences, I had so far failed to 

 detect differences between any birds of the coast and those of the 

 narrow district lying between the east shore of San Francisco Bay 

 and the Mt. Hamilton Range (termed Berkeley Hills at the north). 

 And I could not see why the Plain Titmouse should present a con- 

 spicuous exception. 



In September, 1904, I examined the extensive series of Bceolopkus 

 in the Academy of Sciences collection at San Francisco, and among 

 these, several skins (but not all) from Oakland presented the 

 "dark" coloration, which is given as the sole character of restrictus. 

 I also examined other species from the neighborhood of Oakland 

 and Alameda with the significant result that a number of birds of 

 that limited locality seem prone to dark or leaden shades of color- 

 ation. This has been remarked 3 upon by McGregor who gives 

 several cases, and I can add to his list Green-backed Goldfinch, 

 Willow Goldfinch, and now the Plain Titmouse! 



The upshot of the matter is that I feel convinced that the name 

 restrictus was based on specimens of the ordinary inornatus in 



1 Proc. Ac. Nat. Sc. Phila., Aug., 1845, p. 265. 



2 Proc. Ac. Nat. Sc. Phila., Feb., 1847, p. 154. 



3 Condor, II, Jan. 1900, p. 18. 



