1S90.] Sennett on Thryothorus ludovicianus lomitensis. Co 



Habitat. Lomita Ranch and Hidalgo, Texas, on the Rio 

 Grande. 



Compared with T. ludovicianus this race is much lighter in its 

 general appearance; the color of the back is also different, ludo- 

 vicianus being reddish brown or bright cinnamon, while lomiten- 

 sis is of the chocolate order of browns, fading into grayish brown 

 during the breeding season. There is also more white on lomi- 

 tensis than on ludovicianus \ the barring of the tail is also differ- 

 ent. In ludovicianus the bars of black are wonderfully regular, 

 extending across both webs in a continuous line, while in lomi- 

 tensis the bars of black are joined by a shading of white or 

 creamy and are broken and irregular, thus giving the general 

 mottled appearance and lighter color. The flanks, too, in all old 

 birds of lo?nitensis show a decided tendency to barring, while in 

 ludovicianus this is wanting. 



As compared with T. I. berlandieri, lomitensis is lighter all 

 over; berlandieri is dark tawny below and very dark chocolate 

 brown above, while lomitensis is burl' below and a lighter brown 

 above. Then, too, the flanks of adult berlandieri are distinctly 

 barred, while the bars of lomitensis are not so clearly defined. 



As compared with the southern Florida form, /uia/uensis, the 

 latter is larger, darker, with a stouter hill, and has much less 

 white on the upper parts ; the flanks, howcvci . are barred pretty 

 much the same. It will be seen that lomitensis is about inter- 

 mediate between T. ludovicianus on the north, and the extra- 

 limital T. I. berlandieri of Mexico on the south. The large 

 series of the forms on and adjacent to the Rio Grande now in my 

 collection renders this separation not only possible but, I think, 

 wholly tenable. 



The average sizes of the four forms are as follows : 



Wing. Tail. Exp.cul. Trs. 



T. ludovicianus per Ridgwav's 'Manual' 2.35 2.09 .64 .81 inch. 



T. I. miamensis " " " 2.61 --43 -78 .88 " 



T.l. lomitensis 26 adults 2.24 2.05 .625 .S3 " 



T. I. berlandieri 20 " 2.26 2. 1 1 .65 .81 " 



This new race seems to be resident in that part of the 

 Rio Grande Valley lying adjacent to the river where the forest 

 is heaviest, for none of the forms of this genus has been 

 taken either above or below this timber tract. Hidalgo, where I 



