\ol.XIV| Oberholser, Description of a Nezv Emfidonax. "^OI 



colors of the under surface, this most noticeable anteriorly, the 

 jugulum and breast having little of the brownish ochraceous 

 suffusion so apparent in most specimens of difficilis. The sides of 

 neck and head are somewhat grayer, the throat is usually distinctly 

 whitish, and the wing-bands appear to be rather more purely 

 white. It will thus be seen that while in some characters 

 Empidonax insiilicola is to a certain extent intermediate between 

 difficilis and cineritiiis, yet in the olive brown color above it departs 

 equally from both, though not in the direction of either. 



The characters above ascribed to insulicola are reasonably 

 uniform in the series of five specimens examined. One bird, 

 however, from Santa Catalina Island, has the throat rather more 

 clearly white, and the upper parts a little lighter and more olivace- 

 ous, but these differences are apparently not material. 



So far as it has been possible to ascertain, the only previous 

 record of any representative of the genus Empidonax from the 

 Santa Barbara Islands is by Mr. Eli W. Blake, Jr., who gives 

 Empidonax difficilis as common on Santa Cruz Island. ^ Mr. 

 Blake's E. difficilis is, of course, undoubtedly the E. insulicola of 

 the present paper. 



For comparison in this connection there have been brought 

 together some 85 specimens of Etnpidonax difficilis, many of them 

 taken in the breeding season, this series representing very fully 

 the North American range of the species. Among these there are 

 very few indeed which can not be distinguished from Empidonax 

 insulicola even without comparison, being both lighter and more 

 olivaceous on the upper surface, and more deeply yellow beneath. 

 A considerable range of variation is, however, exhibited, which is 

 not satisfactorily attributable to geographical causes. A specimen 

 from Comox, B. C, and another from Parley's Park, Utah, are 

 nearly as dark above as insulicola, but are much more yellowish 

 olivaceous, and are, moreover, easily distinguished by the very 

 deep brownish suffusion on the breast. 



The palest birds examined are from the southwestern border of 

 the United States, but w-ith these occur, during the breeding season 

 and often in the same localities, some of the darkest birds in the 



'Auk, IV, 1887, 329. 



